South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has urged the Scottish Government to roll out ‘walk in’ vaccination centres across the region as cases surge.

Covid cases have risen sharply across almost all of the local authority areas in the South Scotland region (see table). For example, cases in Dumfries and Galloway went from 64 in the seven days to 18 June, to 209 in the seven days to 25 June.

In Midlothian, numbers jumped from 162 in the seven days to 18 June, to 524 in the seven days to 25 June.

Colin Smyth said: “Our fantastic NHS is working as fast and as hard as it can to vaccinate people, with those in the 18-29 age range now being called for their jags.

“However, these figures are frightening and the Scottish Government must act now to ensure as many people as possible have at least some protection from Covid and as quickly as possible.

“Both the UK and Scottish Governments have said that lockdowns are no longer on the cards as we move into this new stage of the pandemic and that vaccination is going to be key to stopping the spread of this terrible virus.

“While health boards are doing a fantastic job getting people vaccinated, some individuals are still missing out for whatever reason.

“When cases were bad in the Glasgow area recently, we saw drop in vaccination centres set up to cater for those who had missed their appointments. It is now time for the Scottish Government to seriously consider rolling these out across the rest of the country.

“While the Scottish Parliament might be in recess, I will be continuing to hold the government to account on this very serious matter.”