The plan for rolling out the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines from next week has been revealed.

Those who will be delivering the vaccine will be first, starting from next Tuesday, before health staff and care home staff and residents start to get the jag before Christmas.

Nicola Sturgeon said there were challenges in transporting the vaccine to care homes but it has been announced that on December 14 residents should begin to be vaccinated.

The First Minister said: “No issue is more important to the Government right now than making sure that the vaccination programme works effectively and efficiently—that as soon as we have supplies of vaccine they are used to vaccinate people in the order of priority that has been set out by the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation.”

Scotland is due to receive the first 65,000 doses from the of the Pfizer vaccine next week, its share of the UK’s first batch.order

The vaccine will be stored at temperatures below -70C degrees in packs of 997 doses in specialist freezers around Scotland, in all of the major hospitals.

There were concerns that would mean it would not be possible to transport it to individual care homes and residents would not be able to get to vaccination centres, wherever they are to be set up.

However, Jeane Freeman, the health secretary, later confirmed the vaccine could be transported and would be available.

She told the Scottish Parliament the packs can be broken down into smaller pack sizes and stored undiluted for up to five days.

Ms Freeman, said: “So in effect we can take the vaccine to them (care homes) or close to them, and we will begin that exercise from December.14.

Half of the first batch will be kept back to give the second dose needed for the vaccine to be effective.

It is hoped the first round of vaccinations will be completed by Spring 2021.

After NHS frontline workers have been vaccinated, who is eligible depends on who is most at risk based on age and clinical need and health conditions.

The order of priority is split into none categories

Care home residents and staff then people aged over 80 and social care staff will be in the first two groups.

Then over 75s and over 70s and people considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable.

They are followed by over 65s, then people in an at risk group who are aged between 16 and 64.

Then the final three groups are over 60s, people aged 55 and over and then people aged 50 and over.

Then the rest of the population will be offered the vaccine with the priority still to be determined.

Ms Freeman said : “However, on the basis that we receive the vaccine supply that we expect when we expect it, we should be able to vaccinate the first phase of people by spring next year.

“The rest of the adult population will follow as quickly as possible thereafter.”

Ms Sturgeon also revealed there had been 51 new deaths registered of someone who had tested positive for coronavirus in the last 28 days.

There were 958 more positive cases recorded in Scotland in the past 24 hours.

There were 982 people in hospital a decrease of nine and there were 69 people in intensive care an increase of one.