Covid in Scotland: EICC to open as mass vaccination centre on Tuesday

EICC vaccination centreGetty Images

The EICC will reopen as a mass vaccination centre again next week

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) will reopen as a mass vaccination centre on Tuesday next week, NHS Lothian has said.

The venue will return to being a vaccine hub as booster jabs are rolled out across Scotland to tackle the Omicron variant.

Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow is also due to become a mass vaccination centre.

Meanwhile, some people waiting for jabs have been queuing for up to five hours.

At Leith Community Treatment Centre in Edinburgh, hundreds of people waited in line, with some turning up hours earlier.

Mother-of-two Alex Demetri tried to get her second dose on Friday, but had to abandon her plans after being told she would have to wait more than four hours.

She said: "It just annoys me because it's so against what the government is promoting, this whole idea of this massive drive to get everyone vaccinated, and it's virtually impossible in a major city like Edinburgh to do that.

"I had to walk away without getting my vaccine, which is just infuriating."

Pool

The EICC was previously used as a vaccination centre

The 35-year-old financial services worker said she had been hoping to pop in and "get it in time for Christmas so that I can meet more safely with my family".

She added: "I turned up and all you can see is the queue all the way down (Great) Junction Street, and I went in and there's one woman on reception and she was like 'the wait is four or five hours'."

Christoph Krupa, 24, turned up at 08:30 to get his vaccination, and was still waiting four hours later.

He wanted his second dose before going home to Switzerland for Christmas.

Lou Elliot, 20, said it was her second day of trying to get her booster while Martin Richardson, 28, said he had arrived early but still had to wait four hours for his jab.

It comes as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Omincron was now the dominant Covid variant in Scotand

The Scottish government hopes that more than 60,000 people per day will receive their booster vaccinations in the final weeks of December.

To help achieve this it announced on Thursday that mass vaccination centres would be opening again.

One of the EICC's halls will host vaccinations while the rest of the facility continues as a conference centre. It reopened for events in August after being used as a vaccine hub for an earlier phase of the rollout.

It will offer both booked and drop-in appointments.

Hampden has not been used as a vaccination centre before. Previously, the Hydro and the SEC were used as mass vaccination centres - after the SEC had been transformed into NHS Louisa Jordan - however, both venues have since returned to hosting concerts and events.

'Vaccination more important now'

Pat Wynne, nurse director at NHS Lothian, said: "Vaccination is more important now than it has ever been and we are really pleased to be back in the EICC in the heart of the city once more.

"We would urge anyone who still needs a first, second or booster dose of the vaccine to make an appointment or drop in to the EICC or one of the many other clinics in Lothian as soon as they are eligible.

"The best way to get your vaccine is to book in advance, using the online booking portal. That way you can avoid queues and help keep everyone safe."

Those who use the drop-in service are warned they are likely to face queues.

Marshall Dallas, chief executive of the EICC, said: "We are proud to continue to support NHS Lothian and NHS Scotland with the rollout of the vaccine and now the vaccine booster.

"Traditionally, our venue would be closed over the festive period, allowing our team annual leave during this time, so I can't credit our people enough for giving up their holiday time to be on site at the venue to make this possible."

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