A GP surgery is preparing to "pull out all the stops" to offer hundreds more Covid-19 vaccine slots as part of the ramped-up NHS booster programme.

Oakfield Health Centre in Gravesend is among many set to dial up clinic appointments to aid national efforts to get more jabs into arms.

Earlier this year, the centre ran regular sessions aided by volunteers up to three times a week, helping to vaccinate thousands more in key periods.

The 10,000 patient practice in Windsor Road continues to inoculate upwards of 450 people a week but will now see this figure ramped up as it looks to vaccinate a further 560 more people over the weekend alone.

It comes amid concern about the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson set a new target to offer a booster jab to all adults who want one by the end of the month.

The acceleration of the programme took many GPs by surprise, including Dr Rubin Minhas, partner at the Oakfield practice.

The doctor said it would mean staff would be "working from morning to night" to meet the targets but says he has been given assurances its vaccine supplies will be doubled to meet demand.

"I came in and phoned all of my staff and asked if they would be prepared to pull out all the stops to vaccinate 500 to 600 people at the weekend," he said.

Dr Minhas added: "We have been continuing to vaccinate since the programme was resurrected. We opted into the programme and have been running major clinics at weekends having modified our initial model and doing upwards of 400 or so patients at the weekend.

"We are advanced really in terms of our progress through the groups. We have another clinic this Friday vaccinating more than 300 people at the same time as running the general practice.

"The challenge for our practice is we will probably run out of patients to vaccinate if we can get the vaccine reasonably smooth."

NHS England says there are currently no supply challenges with Pfizer or Moderna booster stock.

The Health Department is set to officially open the booster roll-out to over 18s from tomorrow.

However, the programme was extended to over 30s earlier this week, and large queues have been forming outside some vaccination centres as demand increases.

But logistical challenges aside, Dr Minhas has warned we may still see what he dubbed "Santa Claus hesitancy" among eligible patients - a general reluctance to get vaccinated owing to the perceived risk of getting ill over the Christmas period.

"There's definitely reluctance among people to want to be vaccinated in the week prior to Christmas or the week of Christmas," he explained.

"Understandably, because some people, particularly younger people with stronger immune systems are more likely to demonstrate a vigorous immune response to the vaccination which is implying that it is definitely working."

"People would rather defer it until later, or have had the opportunity to have had it earlier if the urgency to have it earlier was made known to them."

Despite this, Dr Minhas continues to urge people not to delay and to come forward and get their jab as soon as possible.

But he notes there has been a worrying long-term trend between "vaccine hesitancy and age".

At his practice, the take-up rate for double vaccination among the over 70s and 80s is roughly 95%.

However, he adds, when you break down the age categories and look at the 30-40 age bracket the rate drops to 65%, and again to about 60% in the 18-30 group.

Such "follow through" trends may well impact upon the booster roll-out, he warns.

"In the older age groups the percentage who had one jab is virtually identical to the percentage that went on also and had the second," said the GP.

"In the younger groups there is a clear fall off between those who go and get the first one and a smaller number who proceed to have the second one after."

Covid cases among the younger population have continued to rise while infections among the older people have fallen, latest figures show.

In Dartford, numbers for the week to December 8 show the infection rate in under 60s is 845.4 per 100,000 while in Gravesham this is 709.8 per 100,000.

This is an increase of 34.7% compared to the seven-day rate a week earlier in Dartford and 4% in Gravesham for the same period.

However, the infection rates for over 60s is considerably lower in both boroughs.

Hospital admissions have remained steady with 26 patients under the care of the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (DGT) with one person on a ventilator.

Asked whether making Covid-19 vaccines compulsory might be a possibility – as seen in Austria and mooted in other parts of Europe – Dr Minhas said he hoped that wouldn't be the case.

"I don't think that mandatory vaccination is something we are going to see," he said. "I think ethically it would be difficult to justify."

But the GP, who specialises in cardiovascular disease, said there needed to be a solution that "balances people's rights with their responsibilities".

"I think people have the right to make decisions for themselves but that doesn't extend to having the consequences of their decisions impact other people, particularly in the most grave situations, such as in health."

However, some nursing leaders have expressed concerns about the "pace and scale" of the expanded booster programme, which will see some "routine" GP appointments delayed whilst it is given priority.

Dr Minhas says his practice will continue to balance this according to patient needs and wishes whilst increasing vaccination rates.

He added the surgery had been "scaling up" its practice behind the scenes.

"We are upping our game and getting better and better but people don't necessarily realise that. It's been an incredible learning curve we have travelled along."

But the doctor added the government's messaging had created a "seesaw" situation which made it difficult to plan in the medium and long term.

"I have to look at this as a health care professional and not a politician," Dr Minhas said.

"And it's a supertanker that's being steered here, but it's being driven like it's a speedboat and it's not really reassuring."

For more information on how to book a vaccination, including pre-booking a booster, click here.