Drop-in vaccination clinics to open across Scotland

All health boards in mainland Scotland are to offer drop-in coronavirus vaccination clinics from Monday.

It means that everyone aged 18 and over can attend for their first dose or – if eight weeks have passed – their second dose.

Separate queues will be in operation for those with a scheduled appointment.

Mobile vaccination units run by the Scottish Ambulance Service will visit local communities and busy city centre spots in Edinburgh and Glasgow for a two-week period.

Anyone who has not yet received an invitation or would like to rearrange an existing appointment will still be able to continue to self-register on the NHS Inform site.

Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Our route out of this pandemic is getting as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, that is why I am urging people to get jagged in July.

“The vaccination programme continues to progress at pace and, as always, I want to thank everyone involved and all those who have taken up the offer of vaccine.

“As we approach the final stages of the first Covid-19 vaccination programme we are increasing the options available for how and when you choose to be inoculated.

“You can attend one of the drop-in clinics being run in all mainland health boards or pop into a mobile unit. You can also rearrange the location of your appointment online if, for example, it is more convenient for you to be vaccinated closer to your work than home.

“You can find out where your nearest drop-in clinics are by visiting NHS Inform which will direct you to the latest information from your local health board.”

Yousaf continued: “All those aged 18 and over can also self-register to receive their appointment by text or email which will be convenient for anyone who has recently moved house or is new to Scotland.

“All of the evidence says that the vaccines are working as we continue to battle the faster-transmitting Delta variant which is now dominant so I urge everyone to take advantage of the vaccination programme which is open to every adult in Scotland.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said that the clinics had arrived weeks late.

“With the virus running rampant it’s worrying that it has taken the Scottish Government such a long time to get this up and running. London has had walk-in clinics for several weeks now,” he said.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have repeatedly advocated for more walk-in vaccination centres so this is a step in the right direction.

“However, the vaccine rollout is only half the story during this surge. The Government remains silent on how it will end the mounting delays in contact tracing.

“It should never have reached the point of needing to turn off some tracing activities altogether because of a lack of capacity.

“Ministers need to tell us whether they have any reinforcements available for such a surge or whether they have taken their eye off the ball.”