More than three quarters of adults in Scotland have received their Covid-19 booster vaccinations.
The Scottish government had set a target of getting 80% of eligible adults and young people boosted by the end of the year.
By 30 December, 77% had received the jabs. The government said high infection levels had meant thousands of people had to delay their appointments.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said it was not too late to get vaccinated.
He paid tribute to the people of Scotland for their collective effort and success in getting more than 2.98 million people “boosted by the bells”.
Scotland leads the rest of the UK on first, second, third and booster doses, and the Scottish government said it continued to deliver one of the fastest and most successful vaccination programmes in the world.
Mr Yousaf said: “Since the emergence of the Omicron variant, there has been a heroic and monumental effort by everyone on Scotland’s vaccination programme to make sure we can deliver booster vaccines as quickly as possible – my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in the delivery of the programme and to everyone coming forward to be boosted.
“In the week ending 26 December – with staff quite rightly taking a break on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and with many areas suffering high infection rates – we achieved record-breaking numbers of vaccinations, with 77,927 jabbed on the busiest day – that’s more than one every second during vaccine centre opening hours.
“We know that many people have been unable to attend their appointments due to the virus. This has been the most common reason for people cancelling their appointment via the helpline.”
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGESHe said anyone who had to delay their booster due to a Covid infection or isolation period could now arrange a new appointment, 28 days after their positive PCR test.
“To deliver maximum benefits we need as many people as possible to get boosted as quickly as possible,” Mr Yousaf said. “It is everyone’s duty to get a jab if you haven’t already – vaccination could literally save your life as well as keeping family, friends and loved ones safe.
“And it is never too late to receive your booster – or even a first or second dose – so please come forward as soon as possible, as there is capacity available to get you vaccinated.”
The expansion of the booster programme and other vaccine doses will continue into the new year and young people aged 12-15 who are still to receive their second dose will now be invited to reschedule existing appointments or attend drop-in centres from Monday 3 January.
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