Borders MP, John Lamont, has received his COVID-19 booster vaccine at the Borders Event Centre in Kelso.
The Pfizer dose was administered by a member of the British Armed Forces, who are currently supporting NHS Borders to recover from the pandemic.
It comes as the Prime Minister has set a target of offering a booster dose to all adults before the end of the year, cutting the original target time from 7 weeks to less than 3.
The UK Government is going to put in place more support to help the Scottish Government to achieve this target. This is likely to include more military planning teams to help with the logistical challenge, amongst other things.
From today (Monday 13th), people over the age of 30 can book their booster dose if it has been more than three months since their second dose. It is expected that it will open to all over 18s later this week in Scotland.
The Armed Forces have been supporting the Borders throughout the pandemic, including setting up and manning testing centres, administering vaccine doses and working within the Borders General Hospital.
Mr Lamont is urging people to get boosted to help protect themselves from rising cases and the new Omicron variant.
John Lamont MP said:
“I am very grateful to NHS Borders and the British Armed Forces for my booster vaccine. This helps to protect me from serious illness and helps to protect the NHS.
“This will be especially important over the Christmas period where people are more likely to mix with friends and family.
“I am urging everyone who is eligible to book your booster now. This is a tangible step that you can take right now to help reduce the number of restrictions on our lives in the future.
“We still do not really know how dangerous the Omicron variant is, but we do know that a rise in cases is likely. You can help stop this by getting your vaccine as soon as possible.”
