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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Sean Murphy

NHS Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow and Clyde U-turn on ending Covid vaccine drop-in clinics

Two of Scotland's largest health boards have made a U-turn on the decision to end their drop-in vaccine clinics after they were heavily criticised following their initial decision to close them.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire confirmed they will continue to run the drop-in vaccine clinics at various locations after previously announcing they would end them on Friday.

A spokesman for the health board said on Saturday (October 2): "In response to demand from the public, we are now running drop-in vaccination clinics for first and second doses this weekend at centres in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

"We are keen to make it as accessible as possible for people to receive their vaccinations. Our drop-in clinics will operate alongside our appointment clinics so patients should be aware they may have to queue."

After the health boards announced the plans to end them, opposition parties at Holyrood quickly called for the clinics to remain open, with Labour MSPs saying their closure was "extraordinary and dangerous".

Increasing uptake of the jag was one of the key reasons for the Scottish Government's vaccine passport system.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it would keep the sites open this weekend and further into October in response to demand from the public.

The spokesman for the health board added: "In addition to offering first, second and booster Covid-19 vaccinations, we are also delivering approximately 63,000 flu vaccinations per week to help ensure as many people as possible are protected in the run-up to winter."

The public are still being asked to book vaccine appointments online or by telephone where possible.

NHS Lanarkshire confirmed on social media that its drop-in clinics would run during the weekend and into next week.

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