BORIS Johnson has set a target for all adults to receive booster jags against Covid by the end of January. 

It comes as 22 cases of the new Omicron variant have been detected in the UK so far - 13 in England and nine in Scotland. 

At a Downing Street Press conference, Mr Johnson said there would be vaccine clinics "popping up like Christmas trees" and added that he hopes to have all adults offered a booster shot by January.  

The Prime Minister added: "We’ll deploy at least 400 military personnel to assist the efforts of our NHS, alongside, of course, a fantastic jabs army of volunteers. 

"I know the frustration that we all feel with this Omicron variant, the sense of exhaustion that we could be going through this all over again. 

"But today our position is – and always will be – immeasurably better than it was a year ago." 

UK Government Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the best chance of having a Christmas where people can spend time with their family was if everyone took up their offer of a vaccine or booster. 

He said 18 million booster doses have been delivered across the UK, and the daily number of jabs has risen by a third since the start of this month. 

Mr Javid told the press conference: "What we’re seeing recently has brought back memories of the strain of the last winter. But although we can’t say with certainty what lies ahead, we have one huge advantage that we didn’t have back then: our vaccination programme, which has already done so much to keep this virus at bay. 

“But these defences will only keep us safe if we use them. This is a national mission and we all have a role to play. 

"If we want to give ourselves the best chance of a Christmas with our loved ones, the best thing we can all do is step up, roll up our sleeves, and get protected when the time comes." 

It comes after Nicola Sturgeon gave an update to MSPs today, in which she said the nine Omicron cases in Scotland are thought to have come from a "single event".  

The First Minister explained: "None of these individuals - as far as we know - has recent travel history to or known links with others who have travelled to the countries in Southern Africa where the variant was originally detected. 

"However, while the contact tracing exercise is still ongoing, health protection teams have established that all nine cases are linked. 

"They all trace back to a single private event on 20 November. 

"Indeed, we fully expect that there will be more cases identified over the coming days that are also linked to this event."