Plans for remaining mass vaccination sites in Fife welcomed
A derelict Argos store is one of four locations identified across the Kingdom
Plans to transform a derelict Argos store in Glenrothes into a mass vaccination site are being welcomed.
The unit in the Kingdom shopping centre is one of four identified in Fife.
They're set to open next month as the vaccine rollout moves to those in their forties.
Local councillor Ross Vettraino think it's a smart decision.
"The Kingdom Centre is readily accessible to a great number of people so I think it will most effective and most useful in that role," he said.
"I'm presuming that now they've stripped out the partition between what was the front shop as it were and the back shop, so it'll have greatly increased the floor space that's available for use as a vaccination centre."
The Savoy Community Centre in Methil is the other remaining site that has been identified after the former M&S store on Kirkcaldy High Street and Fife College’s Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline were previously confirmed.
The new mass vaccination sites are due to open next month, with around 5,000 people being invited for vaccination at the new venues over the coming weeks ahead of their formal opening.
NHS Fife Director of Pharmacy and Medicines, Scott Garden said: “The confirmation of our mass vaccination venues is an important milestone in the immunisation programme here in Fife, and these sites will play a pivotal role in helping offer the local population protection against COVID-19.
“As we move into this second phase of the programme and see some of the public health measures in place begin to ease, it is important that we to tailor our approach accordingly.
"In addition to enabling us to deliver higher volumes of vaccinations than our existing clinics, these new sites also offer us greater flexibility in terms of opening hours and provide the space to allow us to scale up and down the programme dependent upon vaccine supply.
“A significant amount of planning has gone on behind the scenes in recent weeks, both to identify and assess the suitability of these venues and to prepare the sites to safely manage the considerable volumes of people who will be attending.
“The imminent opening of these mass vaccination clinics is another important step in the right direction in the efforts to supress COVID-19 in Fife, and help protect local people against the effects of the virus.”