Coronavirus UK news LIVE – Army on ‘front line’ of Covid vaccination effort as mass testing begins in Middlesbrough

A FURTHER 353 armed forces personnel will deploy on the “front line” of the Covid-19 vaccination and testing effort in Scotland, the Defence Secretary has said.

Ben Wallace visited a vaccination centre at Forth Valley College in Stirling on Friday, where he met soldiers administering injections to the public alongside NHS staff.

Mr Wallace said: “They’ve been here right at the very beginning, they’ve been in departments of the Scottish Government, the UK Government, doing planning, dealing with testing and tracing.

“We’re just about to deploy a few hundred more in the testing process.”

It comes as mass testing is set to begin in Middlesbrough following the detection of a case of the South African variant.

An additional test centre has been set up at the Parkway Centre in Coulby Newham and anybody over the age of 16 from Marton and Coulby Newham is being urged to get tested – no appointment is needed.

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