I am delighted at the latest news that a United Kingdom-approved COVID vaccine has arrived – as are the many constituents who have contacted me since the news broke.

We also know that there will be a range of vaccines available but how available each type from each manufacturer will be is still unclear, however what is clear is the necessity of priority which will be required to ensure that those who are most at risk of contracting coronavirus receive their doses first.

It is also hoped that all those aged 50+ will have received their vaccines by summer 2021.

But the SNP Scottish government must take on board lessons learnt from this year’s Flu vaccine programme.

We simply cannot have the same structure in place and there must be a clear and simple plan set out for the distribution and administration of the COVID vaccines.

The Scottish Conservatives fully understand the sheer magnitude of this logistical operation. This is why the publication of health board COVID vaccine delivery plans would go a long way to preventing a postcode lottery, like we saw with the Flu jab debacle earlier this year.

Our MSPs seeking to scrutinise plans in order to obtain answers for our constituents are struggling to receive enough information from the SNP and health boards, plus the few answers that we are receiving have been sluggish and incomplete.

Our constituents – and indeed the wider public right across Scotland – have to know that every detail has been covered.

SNP government keeping its cards close will not benefit anyone, as any teething problems with the COVID vaccine must be sorted quickly or they risk spiralling and hampering efforts to fight back against this pandemic.

Although this news of the vaccine is very welcome, we also cannot relax our continuing efforts towards suppressing the virus.

Clackmannanshire’s significant increase in positive COVID cases since 3rd December was a huge blow and it was apparent that we came to within a whisker of being put into Level 4.

This would have been a disaster for the Wee County, which does not need a public health crisis at this time, especially with NHS Forth Valley’s resources stretched to the limit and footfall into many local businesses already struggling.

But it didn’t happen. Thankfully. And last weekend I was very pleased to have been supporting Small Business Saturday, which is an annual non-commercial campaign that highlights and celebrates the success of our small businesses and encourages consumers to 'shop local' and support small businesses in their communities.

Key industries such as hospitality, tourism and retail have all been warning that thousands of jobs could be lost in the coming months, due to the slump in demand and continued social distancing measures.

Every decision which people make over the coming weeks, from spending money in our local shops, supporting locally run cafes and paying for local traders to fix household appliances and facilities for example will make a seismic difference to the fortunes and prospects of our local businesses all over Clackmannanshire and indeed across Scotland, especially going further into winter.