Scotland's Covid passport is yet another example of chaos that dogs SNP government's vaccine programme – John McLellan

Strolling up to the gate last Friday evening for the Edinburgh Rugby match, a nice chap in a hi-viz jacket asked me for my proof of vaccination.

John McLellan has been having trouble with the Covid passport app on his smartphone (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

I said it was somewhere in my phone, but if I spent time searching I’d miss some of the game and I was already late.

“No problem,” he said, “But you’ll need it to get in next week.”

So like thousands of others I’ve been wrestling with the Scottish government’s Covid status app, only for it to tell me that no camera is available on my Android phone to snap my driving licence, even though it’s there and functions perfectly.

Maybe it’s me, but I can’t get the damn thing to work, so I’ve downloaded the certificate which shows I’ve had two jabs so I can show another security bod if I want to attend a big sports fixture.

I’m sure I can bodge or bluff my way round it, but the rigmarole and the doubt shouldn’t be necessary and I shouldn’t have to.

Similarly, the grief being experienced by elderly people trying to get a booster jab is a nonsense, with some being told that if they want to change their appointment then the best thing to do is miss the original date and then ask for another one. Madness.

Whatever criticisms are being levelled at the UK government for its reaction at the start of the pandemic, there really is no excuse for the chaos which seemingly dogs the Scottish government’s vaccine programme with every new initiative.

John McLellan is a Conservative councillor for Craigentinny/Duddingston

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