Covid Scotland: Call for 24-hour booster vaccinations as drive to beat Omicron continues

Scottish Labour has called for booster vaccination appointments to be available round the clock as Scotland races to vaccinate 80 per cent of adults before the end of the year.

It comes as NHS Grampian announced a 24 hour operation at some clinics.

Peterhead Minor Injuries Unit offered appointments through the night over the weekend.

Sharing available appointment times on social media, NHS Grampian vaccination programme manager Jo Hall said: “Yes you’ve read it right….24 hour a day booster vaccination appointments now available in some clinics in Grampian!”

A person receives a Covid-19 vaccination as a 24-hour "jabathon" takes place at an overnight walk-in vaccine clinic at the Morris House GP practice in Haringey. Picture date: Friday December 17, 2021.

The health board recorded its biggest-ever daily vaccination total on Thursday, with 7,838 doses delivered. Some 7,353 of these were boosters.

Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie called for round-the-clock vaccination to be extended to other health board areas.

"Vaccination is the key to tackling this pandemic and the government must pull out all the stops to get Scotland vaccinated,” she said.

"24 hour vaccination clinics have an important role to play if we are to reach the government's own vaccination targets."

The 24-hour offer in Grampian has been led by the health board, the Scottish Government said, and there are no plans to roll out 24-hour clinics nationwide

A spokesperson said: "Getting a booster is an essential way of protecting yourself and others and of course of helping relieve and reduce the burden on the NHS.

“The booster programme has picked up speed and we have doubled the number of Covid vaccinations in the last week, the vast majority of which are boosters.

"We welcome the introduction of 24 hour appointments, but this is a matter for local boards depending on available capacity.

“We are working hard with Health Boards to maximise vaccination capacity, including additional facilities at the EICC and Hampden.

“We appreciate the hard work being undertaken by vaccination teams across the country and are thankful to everyone coming forward to get their jags.

“More than half of the over 18 population has now had a booster but we want as many people as possible to get boosted by the time the bells strike on Hogmanay.”

The Scottish Government has said it aims to deliver booster vaccines to 80 per cent of adults before the end of December.

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