UK Coronavirus LIVE: Warning over vaccine impact as GPs told to prepare to give jab by December 14

Covid-19 will keep hospitals under strain over the next three months

(PA)

Covid-19 will keep hospitals under strain over the next three months as new vaccines will only have a "marginal impact" on patient numbers over winter, the UK's chief medical officers have warned.

Festive gatherings are likely to place "additional pressure" on hospitals and GPs in the New Year, which "we need to be ready for", the the group - which includes England's Professor Chris Whitty and - also said.

Meanwhile the Covid-19 vaccine will "definitely" be ready to go into care homes in the next two weeks, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said. It means care home residents and staff may not be the first to receive jabs, despite being the top priority.

It comes as the first GP surgeries have been told to be ready to start staffing Covid-19 vaccination centres by December 14, with vaccinations for hospital staff set to begin on Tuesday.