Extra staff have been deployed to a Covid-19 vaccine clinic in St Andrews amid demand for booster jabs.
A long queue had built up outside St Andrews Community Hospital by 8am on Thursday – when the drop-in clinic opened.
One patient says that when he arrived there were nearly 100 people in the queue, which snaked across the hospital’s car park.
It comes during a drive to get booster or third jabs to everyone eligible by New Year, due to rising cases of the Omicron variant.
‘It looks like a long wait’
St Andrews resident Iain Carson was among those waiting to get his booster vaccine on Thursday.
He said: “There’s a huge queue – it’s winding all the way around the car park and up the hill.
“Everyone with an appointment appears to be able to walk through, but for the people just turning up hoping to get a booster jab, it looks like a long wait.
“It only opened at 8am, so we thought if we got there at 8am we’d be OK.
“But when we got there there were nearly 100 people in the queue and we could see it growing in front of us.
“There will be students hoping to get a jab before they go home, and there’s probably people trying to get a jab in before work.
“I don’t know if the queue is going to get smaller later, but I don’t really want to risk it.”
A statement from NHS Fife said: “Our drop-in vaccination venue at St Andrews Community Hospital is extremely busy this morning, which will likely result in waits for those attending without a scheduled appointment.
Extra staff deployed
“While we have deployed extra staff to the venue, if you already have an appointment booked we would encourage you to keep this to avoid queuing and help us manage demand.
“If you do not have an appointment you can make one here.
“Our staff are working hard to deliver vaccines as safely and efficiently as possible and we appreciate your patience.”
The booster programme has been extended this week for people in their 20s and 30s.
The first minister has urged Scots to get their booster jabs as soon as possible, while other advice around social interactions in the lead-up to Christmas has also been issued.
The UK reported its highest number of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began on Wednesday, with 78,610 people testing positive.
There was also a significant rise in cases of Omicron across Tayside and Fife.
Covid Scotland: How much protection do my vaccines and booster give against Omicron?
