Boris Johnson holds No 10 press conference at 4pm TODAY as Britain fights to save Christmas from the Omicron variant

BORIS Johnson will hold a press conference in Downing Street this afternoon to present Britain’s battle plan against the Omicron variant.

PM will show how jabs boost program will be ramped up in containment efforts More restrictions will apply at Christmas.

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In 4pm press conference From 10th place, he is expected to aim to deliver 3.5 million additional vaccines per week – one million more than current capacity.

And he will also defend the return of restrictions like masking and isolation, vowing to review them in three weeks’ time.

It comes after scientists yesterday boosters give green light to all UK adults in an effort to prevent the spread of Omicron.

They also cut the interval needed between the second and third doses from six months to just three months.

It comes as…

Boris said today: “The measures coming into force today are proportionate and responsible, and will give us time in the face of this new variation.

“Vaccines and boosters are still our best line of defense, so it’s more important than ever that people step forward when they’re eligible for a boost.”

Experts say that although the new strain of bacteria may reduce the effectiveness of current vaccines, it is very unlikely to avoid them completely.

Ministers have pledged to continue to “front” in the fight against the Covid super-stress.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday announced that the NHS boost scheme is being put in place “on steroids”.

But Disappointed Britons aged 18 and over who will now qualify were confused after Couldn’t make a vaccination appointment yesterday.

The announcement sparked a scramble on the NHS vaccine ordering website, with thousands of people queuing online to secure a spot.

Other people aged 40 and over who were stabbed more than three months ago were also unable to make an appointment.

That’s because the change in time interval between the second and third doses has not been updated on the NHS website.

New restrictions

The Prime Minister has also announced new restrictions to help limit the spread of the mutant variant, effective at 4am this morning.

These include making face masks mandatory on public transport and in shops, post offices and banks – but not pubs and restaurants.

Britons who come into contact with someone who tests positive for Omicron will have to self-isolate for 10 days even if they have been vaccinated.

And international guests now need to do a PCR test on day 2 and have to isolate until negative results.

MPs will vote on the new measures today, with only a handful of skeptics of the Tory lockdown expected to rebel against the plans.

Today, ministers tried to reassure Britons that “Christmas is on” but warned much would depend on how dangerous the variant was.

Scientists think this new strain of bacteria is much more transmissible, but little is known about its ability to evade vaccines.

In South Africa, where it has been identified, doctors have reported mild symptoms in the positive cases but they are mostly young people.

Care Minister Gillian Keegan said: “The boosters will help, and we are just trying to address this unknown at the moment.

“We were very hopeful that we would have a Christmas this year, we had a bad experience last year.”

She said the chances of being forced into quarantine during the festive period were “pretty low” but the new variant was “unlucky in timing from that perspective”.

And she added: “Keep your Christmas plans intact, but of course we’ll have to deal with it because the scientists have more information for us.”