OVER 25,000 vaccinations were carried out in Fife on the week the Scottish Government announced the Covid booster programme would be rapidly sped up to give protection against the spreading Omicron variant.

Fife vaccinators have been praised for their "tireless dedication" that's enabled the kingdom's health board to increase capacity at clinics by almost 70 per cent.

A staggering 25,170 vaccinations were given out between December 13-19, of that total, 23,376 were booster doses, according to figures provided to the Press by NHS Fife. 

In comparison to the week before - December 6-12 - that's an extra 9,075 vaccinations - up from 16,095.

Furthermore, 4,158 vaccinations were given on December 19, significantly above the target of 3,125.

The number of vaccinations administered increased again on Monday, December 20, with NHS Fife delivering 5,340 vaccinations in just one day. 

That's the second-highest amount of jabs given in a day since the vaccination programme began. 

The highest number was on April 19 with a total of 5,401 administered. 

Director of the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, Nicky Connor, said: “Following the rapid acceleration of the COVID booster programme announced by Scottish Government last this week, Fife was asked to immediately increase capacity in local clinics by around 50% to enable all of those over the age of 18 to have the opportunity to receive a booster vaccination over the course over the following three weeks. 

“Increasing capacity by such an extent in less than 48 hours was incredibly challenging, however, due to the tireless dedication of the staff working in our clinics, and indeed those working behind the scenes to support the ongoing day-to-day running of the programme, we have instead been able to increase capacity by nearer 70%. 

"This has enabled us to make around 80,000 appointments available in Fife up to the first week in January."

Uptake of vaccines by Fifers has been high and as well as scheduled appointments, 4,200 jabs were carried out at drop-in clinics last week.

“Since the announced acceleration of the programme, uptake of appointments has been really encouraging, with many thousands of appointments booked each day and our clinics consistently operating at or near full capacity," Nicky Connor added. 

“There continues to be many thousands of appointments available between now and early January and we are urging anyone eligible for a first, second or booster dose of the COVID vaccine to book a vaccination appointment as soon as possible using the national booking portal at: vacs.nhs.scot. 

"Alternatively, there are also a number of drop-in clinics available across the Kingdom where no appointment is necessary."

Details of all upcoming drop-in clinics are available on the NHS Fife website, at: www.nhsfife.org/dropinclinics.”
For more information on the COVID vaccination programme in Fife, visit: www.nhsfife.org/vaccination .