A DRIVE-THROUGH mass Covid-19 vaccination centre is to open at Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh, on February 10, NHS Lothian has this evening announced.

It will have 16 stations and be capable of vaccinating 8,000 people a week.

Other large centres in Edinburgh and West Lothian will begin vaccinating patients on Monday as part of wave two of the national vaccination programme.

These include the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), which will be capable of vaccinating more than 21,000 people a week.

East Lothian Community Hospital, in Haddington, has also been named as a smaller, more localised vaccination centre, along with many other community hubs in Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian.

David Small, of NHS Lothian, said they had already vaccinated "the vast majority of the first cohort to be prioritised" in the Lothians.

"GP practices continue to deliver the injections as fast as their vaccine supplies allow," he said.

“This is a significant moment as we embark on wave two of the largest vaccination programme that has ever been undertaken.

“We need to vaccinate as many people as we possibly can to help save lives and provide protection to help communities get back to normal.

"We therefore urge people to attend their appointment once they are notified of the details."

NHS Lothian has been working with councils, health and social care partnerships and other partners in recent weeks to ensure the sites are ready.

The centres are the first of a total of 15 to be rolled out across Lothian, including the community hospital in Haddington.

People aged between 75-79 and those most clinically vulnerable will be given appointments to be vaccinated by their GP, while those aged between 70-74 and 65 to 69 will be invited into mass vaccination sites and smaller community venues for their injections.

Patients are being urged to keep their first appointment in order to provide protection to as many people, as quickly as possible even if their appointment venue may not be the one that is closest to where they live.

Smaller community clinics will deliver vaccinations in the local area for people with complex needs or who, for other reasons, absolutely cannot and would not be expected to travel to a mass centre.

If patients absolutely cannot keep the appointment they have been given, they are being asked to call the Covid-19 Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013 to rearrange their appointment. If they are aged 75 and over, they should phone their GP practice to rearrange your appointment.