The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Army medics lining up jabs as 95,000 people in Fife receive first dose
Army vaccinators are helping ensure Fifers receive their Covid jabs as the pace of the programme increases.
Soldiers from the Royal Army Medical Corps will be at clinics in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy over the next fortnight.
Thousands of people are expected to be vaccinated over the next few weeks as the jab is offered to younger age groups and people with underlying health conditions.
More than 95,000 people in Fife have already received their first dose.
These include NHS and care home staff, care home residents and hundreds of over-80s.
NHS Fife expects the over-65s to be vaccinated by the end of next week before moving on to younger people with underlying health conditions and unpaid carers.
Those in that cohort will begin receiving their letters this weekend.
Director of pharmacy and medicines Scott Garden said the rollout of the second dose would begin on March 1, starting with staff.
He said vaccinators had performed “fantastically well” despite last week’s problem when a national IT glitch led to 7,000 appointments being overbooked.
While a number of bookings were rescheduled, long queues still formed outside a number of venues and the problems were compounded by heavy snow.
There has been no repeat of those issues this week and the programme is accelerating.
Mr Garden said the problems caused by the national scheduling tool had a “significant impact” on staff in terms of workload.
“They managed to deal with that fantastically well,” he said.
“There were a number of people who had to have their appointments rescheduled to ensure clinics ran smoothly and effectively.
“These individuals have had their appointments rebooked over the course of this week.
“We are now ahead programme targets.”
As the programme expands, clinics are expected to move to larger of venues to accommodate increased numbers.
“We’re doing that with our military colleagues because it’s a big group,” said Mr Garden.
The military has helping with vaccinations across Scotland and provided significant logistical support since the start of the pandemic.
In Fife, they assisted with the supply of vital PPE to ensure frontline health and social care staff were protected.
NHS Fife director of public health Dona Milne said: “Throughout the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, the military have provided invaluable support to health boards in Scotland.
“Here in NHS Fife we are incredibly grateful for their ongoing commitment and expertise. The Covid-19 vaccination programme in Fife is now moving at a significant pace and it’s scale cannot be underestimated, with many thousands of local people being vaccinated each week.”
Martine Mcnee, spokeswoman for the Joint Military Command in Scotland, said: “All members of the armed forces working in support of NHS Fife are delighted to be taking part in the Kingdom’s vaccination rollout.
“The medics are from all over the UK and are enjoying the interaction with the public, as well as the fact they are taking part in something historic, alongside their NHS colleagues.”