ANGER is mounting about the lack of coronavirus booster jab appointments available in Inverclyde after it emerged one vaccination centre will be closed almost every day between now and Christmas.

The centre at Greenock Town Hall will only be open next Wednesday and Thursday despite the urgent national campaign to ramp up vaccinations before the end of the year in the face of the new omicron variant.

While the Scottish Government was announcing its plans to offer the Covid-19 vaccine to all over-18s by the end of December, the doors of Greenock Town Hall were shut and some individuals were facing long waits at Port Glasgow Town Hall despite having appointments.

One person, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Telegraph they'd recently waited two hours to get their booster jab at Port Glasgow despite having an appointment.

Others have reported that they were unable to get any appointments locally until well into the new year.

Councillor Jim McEleny says he is unhappy that Greenock Town Hall is not being utilised again as a full-time mass vaccination centre.

He said: "People want their booster jag to play their part in stopping the spread of this virus and to keep themselves, their friends, families and strangers safe.

"It’s time for the health board to get the doors of the town hall open and start getting as many jags done as possible.

"We should be vaccinating every single day up to Christmas and then up to new year.

"Not everyone is able to travel to Port Glasgow or out of the area for a jag so to get as many jabs in arms as possible we really need to have Greenock Town Hall back operating as a full time vaccination centre."

When approached by the Telegraph, health board bosses said that Greenock Town Hall was unable to be used as a centre this week due to previous commitments it had when the clinics were being arranged.

An NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokesperson said: “We apologise to any patient who is waiting longer than expected for their vaccine.

"The announcement of the new variant has significantly increased the numbers of people coming forward for their boosters and the number of those eligible for vaccines has also significantly increased from Monday.

“As a result, patients may need to queue but please rest assured we are doing everything in our power to ensure those with appointments receive their vaccines as close to their appointment time as possible.

"This includes exploring a range of options to help increase capacity within Inverclyde to deliver more vaccines to the community as part of the national drive.

"We’d like to thank the council for their ongoing support throughout the pandemic which has allowed us to set up vaccination centres at Port Glasgow and Greenock town halls.

"Overall capacity for the Inverclyde area has been maintained with additional clinics provided at Greenock Town Hall.

"Having the two venues enables flexibility to meet all commitments for the benefit of the communities served throughout the pandemic.

"Capacity has already increased at Port Glasgow Town Hall which means the number of vaccines we’re able to deliver has been maintained while extra appointments have been created at both Port Glasgow and Greenock, with clinics open through to December 31.”