It is great news that people across Scotland are now being vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.
This national roll-out will be an enormous logistical operation, but once completed, will be a huge step towards a return to normality.
At a local level, the process is being managed by Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership and NHS Grampian.
A list was published at the end of last week of the sites where the vaccinations will be carried out.
I was surprised to see that Turriff was not on the original list of sites, which suggested the closest vaccination centre would be in Macduff.
I had already raised concerns with AHSCP about this following the closure of Turriff Hospital due to a Covid-19 outbreak.
It later transpired that the over-80s are being vaccinated in Turriff Sports Centre, but those under 80 – the rest of the adult population – will have to travel to Macduff.
At the time of writing, letters are going out to those in the 70-79 age bracket, but it is not yet clear exactly where this group will be vaccinated.
AHSCP has said that housebound residents will be vaccinated at home while there will be a mobile unit available for those with mobility issues, or for whom public transport is not suitable.
However, none of this information was made public when the list was published, which has caused some confusion locally.
Good communication is essential to a process like this where huge numbers of people are to be contacted and vaccinated.
And there is clearly going to be a lot of work required to make sure that everybody that needs the vaccine in Turriff is able to get it.
I remain of the view that a town the size of Turriff – with all the surrounding towns and villages – should have its own vaccination centre for all, and not just for the over-80s.
It makes sense to try and vaccinate people as close as possible to where they live.
And if the facilities are going to be there to vaccinate the over-80s, why not continue to vaccinate others in the same place?
I am continuing my discussion with AHSCP about this and will of course pass on any further information I have as soon as I receive it.
On a different note, the recent weather has again resulted in serious flooding at the Haughs.
Pictures from last week showed the main Turriff United FC pitch submerged in water.
This has been an ongoing issue for some time now, and I have been engaging with Aberdeenshire Council, Turriff Community Council and the Turriff Show committee throughout.
The community council and Turriff Show committee have agreed to fund repairs, which ideally would have been completed before now.
However, my understanding is that there was previously a hold-up due to concerns raised by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) about the impact on water life in the burn.
In my view, this is a matter of public safety as much as it is about protecting the land and local facilities from flood damage.
I will continue to engage with all parties to encourage and seek a balanced approach that works for the community and cultural and sports organisations like the football and rugby clubs that regularly use the pitches.