Council leader Adam McVey says coronavirus ‘cases remain high in Edinburgh’ - as he calls on the ‘many thousands of unvaccinated local people’ to get the jag.
As a local authority area, Edinburgh has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Scotland, with just 77.2% of residents above the age of 16 having received both doses.
Across the country, 83.8% of over-16s are fully vaccinated, with only Aberdeen (76.4%) and Glasgow (75.2%) having lower vaccination rates than the capital.
Between September 12 and 18, there were 3,916 positive Covid-19 cases in the NHS Lothian board area - which comprises Edinburgh and the Lothians - and 26,553 in Scotland as a whole.
Now, council leader McVey has written to councillors, saying there is ‘no room for complacency'.
Councillor McVey, who represents the Leith ward for the SNP, raised the issue in his monthly letter to councillors and said: “It’s almost exactly 18 months since we went into the first full lockdown of the pandemic and, thankfully, things are in a far better place now than they were back then.
“There’s no room for complacency, though, and there’s still much we all need to do to keep the city on track.
“Cases remain high in Edinburgh and although it’s good news that the infection rate seems to be slowing now, we’ve got to stay vigilant.
“As well as continuing to follow the safety and hygiene guidance, getting vaccinated is the surest way to keep ourselves and our communities protected from this awful virus and I’m delighted that 78% of our citizens are now double-dosed.
“That does mean, though, that there are still many thousands of local people unvaccinated, including 12-15- year-olds who are newly eligible, so I’d urge everyone who still needs their first or second dose to pop along to one of the many drop-in clinics around the city and help us collectively tackle the spread.”
