More than a million Scots have now been vaccinated against lethal Covid-19.
It’s a tremendous achievement which points the way out of this traumatic pandemic.
The pace can’t slip with so much at stake.
Which is why it is so alarming that a mass vaccination centre has been cut back to weekend hours, despite being capable of seeing 2000 people a day.
The centre in Ravenscraig, Lanarkshire, was set up with the help of the military.
Just 250 people turned up on Monday and the centre is only opening at weekends unless demand picks up.
How can there be any room for slack in this system?
There are claims some of the problem centres on the appointments system, rather than demand.
And these complaints cannot be discounted coming so soon after a double-booking fiasco in Fife.
A pensioner reportedly collapsed in the cold while vulnerable people waited there, only to be turned away.
The First Minister and Health Secretary apologised for that shambles.
But they are also quick to claim credit as the pace of vaccinations picks up and goals are met – even if it’s later than was originally hoped.
People are crying out for the vaccine – and doses cannot be wasted.
Every drop of every vaccine must be given to Scots who just want protection.
Heartwarming
In this Baltic blast of cold weather it is unlikely that anyone could survive for very long sleeping out on the city streets.
That’s why the work of volunteers and charities like Homeless Project Scotland is so vital.
It is by patrolling the streets in freezing weather, knowing their patch, that workers were almost certainly able to save the life of one rough sleeper in Glasgow this week.
We would like to persuade ourselves that in Scotland, and particularly in the winter, that rough sleeping is non-existent.
But in Glasgow alone last year, 49 people met a lonely death without a roof over their head.
As a result of interventions during the first wave of the coronavirus crisis the situation improved but there are still rough sleepers with barely a blanket or a sleeping bag on the streets.
That is why the volunteers who are out in the cold finding and persuading individuals to come into the warmth deserve all our praise and gratitude.
