NHS Fife has promised to provide almost 80,000 vaccination appointments between now and January as fears of an Omicron wave grow.
The public health body have increased their vaccination capacity by 70% in response to the new variant, which experts have said will hit the country like a ‘tsunami’.
They now aim to provide 78,000 vaccinations by the first week of January.
New staff have been brought on to speed up the vaccination process – and post-jab observation times have also been slashed in an effort to free up floor space.
Surge in bookings
The increase in capacity comes after the launch of the new booking portal prompted a surge in bookings, with 23,000 appointments being snapped up in just one week.
Despite the booking boom, NHS Fife have promised that vaccinations will be made available to anyone eligible in the next three weeks.
Immunisation Project Director for Fife, Lisa Cooper, said: “The ask to rapidly accelerate the pace of the vaccination programme has been really challenging, however, due to the hard work and flexibility of our staff we have been able to increase the numbers of appointments at our clinics by 70%.
“The response from people in Fife over the last few days has been really encouraging, and we are seeing thousands of appointments being booked each day.
“While our clinics are now fully booked over the course of this weekend, there continues to be literally tens of thousands of appointments available at venues across Fife between now and the first week in January.
“As we would expect, some times and clinics are more popular than others and so we are asking those who haven’t yet booked to look for appointments not just at the closest clinic, but also other clinics nearby.
“We are continually monitoring the availability of appointments across all of our clinics, and we are working to make additional capacity available in those areas where the demand is at its greatest.”
‘We are asking people to book an appointment in advance’
Drop-in clinics have also been made available across much of the Kingdom, however booster drop-ins are only available for those over the age of 40.
However, those planning to attend drop-in clinics have been told to expect long wait times.
The project director added: “We are asking people, wherever possible, to book an appointment in advance and there continues to be plenty of available appointments over the coming three weeks or so.
“Booking an appointment in advance will make it less likely that you will be required to wait, and helps us with our planning, enabling us to ensure we have the correct staffing and supplies in place in each venue to deliver the significant volumes of vaccinations we are at present.
“For those planning on attending our drop-ins, particularly over the course of this weekend, we are asking people to bear in mind that they may be required to wait and to ensure they are wearing warm clothing in the event they are required to queue outside, as may be necessary at some clinics.”
