Mass vaccine centre to close after administering 254,000 doses

A mass vaccination centre in Edinburgh is being closed after administering more than 250,000 doses.

Vaccine teams at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre near Haymarket will deliver their final injections on September 19 after eight months of work, said NHS Lothian.

The centre, which opened in February, has delivered a total of 131,897 first, and 122,747 second doses, the health authority said on Monday.

Lowland Hall in Ingliston will now become the largest vaccine centre in the health board, supported by smaller local clinics across East Lothian, Midlothian, Edinburgh and West Lothian, it added.

NHS Lothian nurse director Pat Wynne said: “Our teams have achieved a massive amount in such a short space of time and we are really grateful to them for making such tremendous efforts.

“They have helped provide protection to over quarter of a million people from across Lothian in just one centre alone – that is quite an achievement.”

A spokesman for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We are entering a new phase of the vaccination programme which will allow us to create more convenient, community-based clinics.

“Lowland Hall (will now become) the main vaccination centre in Edinburgh, but we will support that with 11 other centres spread across the city to make it as easy as possible for people to attend.”

Overall, more than 673,000 people in Lothian have received more than 1.2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, NHS Lothian said.