Thousands line up for 'jingle jabs' on Christmas in England

Thousands of people across England are spending a few minutes of Christmas Day to line up under leaden winter skies to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as the omicron variant fuels a surge in infections across the country

LONDON -- Thousands of people across England are spending a few minutes of Christmas Day to line up under leaden winter skies to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as the omicron variant fuels a surge in infections across the country.

The Good Health Pharmacy in north London is one of dozens of vaccination sites that kept their doors open Saturday to administer “jingle jabs" amid a government push to offer booster shots to all adults by the end of the year.

Pharmacist Fenil Lalji said the shop’s owners decided to stay open because they lost a family member to the pandemic and wanted to do what they could to help others stay safe.

“His family have obviously had a really hard time so his children wanted to make sure they could provide the maximum level of contribution to fighting this COVID virus,″ Lalji told the BBC. “It was a very hard time for his family, and we’re just trying to make sure no one has to go through that.″