EVERY person over 80 in Scotland should receive the first dose of their coronavirus jab within four weeks, Nicola Sturgeon has said, in a significant ramping up of the Scottish Government’s vaccine targets.
The First Minister said she also hopes to get jabs out to the top four JCVI priority groups far sooner than initially thought.
But the Tories hit out at the SNP leader, warning that the vaccination programme wasn’t going fast enough.
Figures published yesterday revealed that, as of Sunday, 163,377 people have now had their first dose.
The target now is for 560,000 people to be vaccinated by February.
Scottish Tory health spokesperson Donald Cameron said ministers would “need to reach people more than twice as fast to reach targets”.
He added: “We all want to see the delivery of this vaccine succeed so we can defeat the virus as quickly as possible.
“The SNP need to show us their plan to accelerate the process. On current trends, they’re going to fall far short.”
Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said the Scottish Government were “working hard to get through this vaccination programme just as quickly as possible”.
She revealed that more than 1100 vaccination sites are now operational, with more soon to open.
She said: “These are mainly GP practices and community vaccination centres.
“But as our supplies of the vaccine increase, the number of venues will increase further, as pharmacies and mass vaccination centres also start to come on stream and be used.
“For the moment, though, the fact that GP practices and community centres are now being widely used for vaccination is an important milestone in the vaccination programme.”
She added: “We are working hard to get through this vaccination programme just as quickly as possible.
“Because of course it is the main route out right now of the situation we all find ourselves in.”
South of the Border, the UK Government said there were no plans for 24-hour provision of coronavirus vaccinations because there is “not a clamour” from the public for appointments beyond 8pm.
Boris Johnson’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, told reporters: “If you go and have a chat with the NHS, they will say that when they are asking people who are being offered vaccinations, and they’re asking what time it would suit them, if people say they would love an appointment after 8pm, then that is something that they will consider,” she said.
“My understanding is that, at the moment, there’s not a clamour for appointments late into the night or early in the morning. If that was the case then it was something the NHS would consider.”
Across the UK, more than 2.2 million people have had their first dose.
At the regular coronavirus briefing from Downing Street, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said two-fifths of over-80s have now had their first dose of vaccine.
The Tory minister said “supply is the rate-limiting factor” which could slow down the programme.
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