Several districts in Kent have fallen behind the national average on the uptake of Covid booster jabs.

But in most parts of the county, more than half of people eligible have now been vaccinated.

The latest figures released by the government yesterday showed Dartford, Gravesham and Medway all falling below the average uptake for England of 47.6 %.

The lowest percentage uptake is in Dartford at 44.1%, followed by Gravesham at 45% and Medway at 45.1%.

Everywhere else the county, at least half of eligible people have now received their booster jab.

The highest percentage uptake in the county is in Folkestone and Hythe (58.2%), followed by Thanet at 56.4% and Sevenoaks at 55.7%.

Across Kent, excluding Medway, 751,429 people have now had the third jab, with an average uptake of 52.3%. The number to receive the booster in Medway is 112,735, making a total for the whole county of 864,164 people.

In England as a whole, the total figure is 25,875,101 people at a rate of 47.6%.

The total number of people to receive the booster dose in each of the county's districts - with the percentage in brackets - is as follows:

Ashford: 65,303 (53.9%)

Canterbury: 81,196 (52.4%)

Dartford: 44,094 (44.1%)

Dover: 58,716 (55.6%)

Folkestone & Hythe: 59,413 (58.2%)

Gravesham: 44,130 (45%)

Maidstone: 79,064 (50.1%)

Medway: 112,735 (45.1%)

Sevenoaks: 60,496 (55.7%)

Swale: 71,236 (51.9%)

Thanet: 72,857 (56.4%)

Tonbridge & Malling: 60,039 (51.3%)

Tunbridge Wells: 54,885 (51.6%)

Dr Alison Duggall, interim director for public health for KCC said: "At the moment, we have high rates of Covid in Kent. They are slightly higher than the England rates, but certainly not the highest in the South East.

"For Kent, we have 874 cases per 100,000 for the latest seven-day average. For Medway, that is 877 per 100,000 and that compares to 881 per 100,000 in the South East.

"So we’re above England but not the highest in the South East.

"In terms of Omicron, the latest data available to us shows that we have around 6,500 cases across Kent."

Boris Johnson this week gave the country the green light to 'go ahead with Christmas plans' but has not ruled out tougher coronavirus restrictions in the coming days.

He said the government couldn't rule out measures after Christmas but said the government didn't think there was enough evidence at this stage to justify tougher measures before December 25.

Last week the Prime Minister put in a surprise appearance at a Kent vaccine centre, as the NHS continues to roll out the government's emergency coronavirus booster programme.

Mr Johnson arrived at the Saga building vaccination centre in Ramsgate, where he praised the work being done by NHS staff and urged as many people as possible to get the third jab.

Texts messages were sent by the NHS to 690,000 people yesterday inviting them to book an earlier slot in December for their booster vaccine.

The messages will inform people that they can book an earlier appointment for their booster jab by using the online booking service.

Kent County Council's interim director of public health, Dr Allison Duggal

People will be able to see the next available slots at all local sites before cancelling their original appointment.

The move comes alongside record numbers of boosters being delivered again over the past week, with 3,891,298 reported in the week between December 11 and 17 - an increase of 68% on the previous week.

As well as the availability of walk-in vaccinations at several sites in the county, more appointments are being added all the time and NHS chiefs are urging people to get boosted as soon as possible.

Recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows two doses of the vaccine are not enough to stop people becoming unwell from Omicron, but suggest a booster significantly increases protection against the variant.

Dr Emily Lawson, director of the NHS Covid-19 Programme, said: “The NHS is leaving no stone unturned in order to get as many people as possible protected from this virus and so today, we are reminding people that they can bring their appointment forward so they can get their boost of protection quicker.

“So there is no need to delay - when you get your text, come forward and get boosted now.”

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said: “Following the emergence of the new Omicron variant, the booster programme has been turbo-charged with everyone over the age of 18 now being able to book their booster three months after their second dose.

Doctors say they are still expecting a “difficult” Christmas and beyond as they treat a surging number of new Covid patients in hospital at the same time as more staff are absent because of the virus.