A former M&S store in Kirkcaldy has found new life as a Covid vaccination clinic.
The abandoned shop closed in 2019 and has been lying vacant since then, and now NHS Fife has been allowed to use the premises for free.
The central location and large open space have proved ideal for the Covid vaccine clinic, one of four new mass-vaccine clinics set to open in the Kingdom.
Whilst the shop closed in 2019 after more than 80 years, M&S has retained the lease to the building and “pulled out all the stops” to make it available to NHS Fife.
Shona Lawrie, M&S regional manager said: “As soon as we were approached to see if our former store was suitable, we were determined to pull out all the stops to make it happen.
“M&S is extremely proud to get involved – we think it is a brilliant idea to use this site and we’re keen to do all we can to help NHS Fife and the Scottish Government accelerate the rollout of the vaccination programme.”
NHS Fife director of pharmacy and medicines, Scott Garden, added: “We want to offer our most sincere thanks to Marks and Spencer for the generous offer of the use of their former store on Kirkcaldy High Street for use as a mass vaccination clinic.
“With the overwhelming majority of those in our priority groups now having received their first vaccination, it’s vital that we adapt the delivery of the programme in order that we can carry out the volumes necessary to vaccinate our younger adult population.”
The latest government stats show 2,708,691 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination, whilst 661,975 have received their second dose.
In total 62.4 per cent of eligible adults in Fife has now received their first dose of the vaccine, whilst 8.5 per cent have received a second dose.
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