The government is running out of time to prepare practices for a vaccine booster campaign, a senior GP has warned.

Ministers have proposed a double vaccination campaign – with patients receiving a booster for COVID-19 in one arm and a flu vaccine in the other.Practices are still waiting for details, Dr Steve Mowle, treasurer of the Royal College of GPs said yesterday. It followed a statement by health secretary Sajid Javid that preparations are under way for a booster campaign – with guidance awaited from expert advisers.

Dr Mowle referred to several complications. One is that patients may be required to wait for 15 minutes for observation following vaccination – creating problems of space for some practices. Practices might also have to recruit extra staff as vaccinators, he said.

Dr Mowle told The Times: “There really isn’t long to go. And we need more details as soon as possible on how it will work, particularly how it will work in conjunction with the flu vaccination. Usually, with flu campaigns there will be a queue snaking around the local area coming in one end and literally coming straight out the other.”

He added: “That’s actually quite complicated giving two different vaccines. So, it needs to be as simple as possible.”

Meanwhile, self-isolation following “pinging” for double vaccinated people will end on Monday as previously planned, the government announced today. People identified as contacts of the infected will however need to get a PCR test. The rules will also apply to children under the age of 18.

Health secretary Sajid Javid said: “Getting two doses of a vaccine has tipped the odds in our favour and allowed us to safely reclaim our lost freedoms, and from Monday we can take another huge step back towards our normal lives by removing self-isolation requirements for double jabbed people who are contacts of people with COVID-19. Double jabbed people who test positive will still need to self-isolate.”