News that NHS Lothian have opened up all vaccination centres to over 18s for drop-in represents a big step in the battle against coronavirus.
With only the youngest people still to receive their first dose the health board is ramping up the vaccination programme locally in order to ensure people don't need to wait for their scheduled appointment and can instead fast-track their jag.
The NHS announced the plan to coincide with their millionth vaccine this week and each of the area's six mass vaccination centres – three of which are in Edinburgh – will be welcoming people on a first-come-first-served basis.
The venues people can attend for their jag are as follows:
- Edinburgh International Conference Centre
- Royal Highland Centre
- Royal Bank of Scotland at Edinburgh Park
- Queen Margaret University in East Lothian
- Pyramids Business Park in West Lothian
- Gorebridge Leisure Centre
People can show up for either their first or second doses, although those looking for their second jab must have received their first vaccine at least eight weeks earlier.
Pat Wynne, Director of Community Nursing at NHS Lothian, said: "To celebrate our millionth vaccine, we are opening up all our mass vaccination clinics to all over-18s with immediate effect. This will let us accelerate our programme and allow as many people as possible to get vaccinated without having to wait for their appointment.
"This means that we are able to target everyone over 18 who doesn't have an appointment or were unable to attend the appointment they received, for whatever reason.
"It will help us administer more vaccine to more people to help give them some protection, which is obviously vital to help beat new variants and keep people well."
So how does it all work?
The drop-in centres opened on Wednesday, June 30 and will operate on a first-come-first-served basis, with people able to attend from 8.30am.
Each venue will remain open until 5.30pm, so there's plenty of opportunity for people to visit. They'll continue running the drop-in service until further notice.
The Scottish Government confirmed on Tuesday that 3,781,887 people have received their first dose of the jag while 2,701,195 people have now received both injections.
