PEOPLE have been queueing for Covid vaccinations on a bus as drop-in clinics expand across Scotland amid record cases.

From yesterday all mainland health boards were offering coronavirus vaccine drop-in services for everyone aged 18 and over to receive their first dose, or second if it is eight weeks since their first.

Authorities hope it will encourage more people to get their vaccine if they can simply turn up without an appointment.

In Glasgow, people were receiving jags on a double-decker bus which has been transformed into a vaccination clinic and was parked outside Mecca Bingo in Parkhead.

Paul Costello, 19, was one of those inoculated with his first dose of the Moderna vaccine yesterday and found the service convenient.

He said: “I work quite nearby so I just thought I’d come over here because it’s a drop-in and it’s the first day I’m able to.

“I didn’t get a letter through the door so I had to sign up for it. It was on Wednesday but I’m busy on Wednesday so just getting to come today was good because I was here already.”

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Gordon McMillan, 29, received an appointment letter through the post for early June but could not go as he was working in England, so he was pleased that he could use a drop-in clinic.

He said: “It’s handy for people that can’t get places, I just walked in. I just stay round the corner so as soon as I heard I came down.

“I had an appointment for Easterhouse but couldn’t make it, so this is my first jab. I was down south working and couldn’t get up.”

Chantelle Dominiak, from Australia, said the drop-in clinics are helpful for people like her who are not registered with a GP.

The 29-year-old, who has been in Scotland for around 18 months, said: “It is a really good idea, especially if you are not registered with a GP, it’s an easy way to get your vaccine.

“I hope it will encourage more people to get vaccinated, it does make it easy as instead of having to wait for an appointment letter, you can just go and get a jab.”

The vaccination bus, run by the Scottish Ambulance Service, will visit different locations over the next few days.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said that the vaccination bus was offering the Moderna vaccine only.

It tweeted: “Our vaccination buses, not our drop-ins, are offering the Moderna vaccine only. It is available to people aged 18-39 for their first dose. It is also available to anyone who is 8 weeks from their first Moderna vaccination.”

Last week saw the most coronavirus cases of any point during the pandemic, with a peak of 4484 new infections recorded.

A mobile vaccination unit, run by the Scottish Ambulance Service, will also be visiting busy areas of Lothian over the next five days.

It will be at the Fort Kinnaird Shopping Centre today, followed by the Grassmarket in Edinburgh City Centre tomorrow and Thursday and will then travel to West Lothian on Friday.

NHS Lothian is using both the Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines on the bus.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf tweeted: “We have one of the fastest vaccination programmes in the world but want to go even faster.

“Drop-in clinics open for every age cohort (18yrs+) for 1st and 2nd doses right across every mainland health board area.”

New coronavirus cases in Scotland have continued to fall but the numbers of people in hospital and intensive care have risen, according to the latest figures.

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Scotland’s rate of new cases currently stands at 405.8 per 100,000 people – the highest since comparable records began last summer, when mass testing was introduced across the country.

Scotland was the only UK nation to have seen case rates reach a new high – but this is in large part because rates peaked at a much lower level in Scotland during the second wave at 301.9 cases per 100,000, compared with peaks of 680.6 in England, 649.2 in Wales and 689.6 in Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Government yesterday announced that there had been 2372 coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours.

This continues the drop in cases for the fourth consecutive day from Thursday’s record high. However, the test positivity rate was 12.6%, up from 11.4% the previous day.

The number of people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19 continues to rise, as it has from more than two weeks, and as of Sunday was at 338, up 22 in 24 hours. There were 30 patients in intensive care, a rise of five.

No deaths of recent coronavirus patients were recorded in the past 24 hours, meaning the death toll under this daily measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – remains at 7729.

So far, 3,869,223 people have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 2,774,136 have received their second dose.