Fairislecable:
'Hopefully it’s a sign that perhaps this year it is not as necessary as the last few years.
No - it really isn't. The latest new variant, BA.2.86, is still being investigated/studied - both for testing and for immunisations. We don't yet know much about it yet. The rates of Covid infections are rising here, as expected before winter.
I always book online. I'd travel quite a long way to get that jab (and the flu one) - as it might just keep me out of hospital this winter. I dread ever going into hospital.
You can, of course, wait a few weeks to see if more local jabs become available - while gambling that you don't catch Covid in the meantime.