THE second phase of Scotland’s coronavirus vaccination programme has begun with the opening of two new mass inoculation centres.
The facilities at Aberdeen's P&J Live venue and the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) will be able to give jags to an extra 27,000 people per week.
NHS staff spent last week vaccinating each other as part of their inductions at the centres.
The EICC will have capacity to vaccinate more than 21,000 people a week at 45 stations, while the Aberdeen site will start with 20 booths to accommodate around 6000 people weekly.
According to the Scottish Government, the NHS Louisa Jordan in Glasgow has been vaccinating between 1000 and 5000 per day since early December and has the capacity to go to 10,000 per day.
The scale of the operation means this week letters will start going out across Lothian, Grampian and Greater Glasgow and Clyde to those aged between 65 and 69 – the next group on the priority list.
It comes as the vaccines are now also being offered to people over the age of 70 across the country.
The aim is to vaccinate everyone aged between 70 and 79 – and the clinically extremely vulnerable, including over-16s on the shielding list – by mid-February.
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Last month there was confusion after Health Secretary Jeane Freeman urged people in this age group to look out for the "very distinctive" blue envelopes for information on when they would receive their first dose of the Covid-19 jab.
However, the blue envelopes were not ready in time and white, windowed envelopes featuring a distinctive black NHS logo was sent out to some people as a temporary measure instead.
Meanwhile, the UK Government has ordered an extra 40 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine which is being made in Scotland.
The move means 100m doses of the Valneva jag have now been put on order, with the latest batch earmarked for delivery in 2022.
The Government has also retained options over a further 90m doses for supply between 2023 and 2025.
Valneva said the total value of the entire order was up to €1.4 billion euro (£1.24bn).
The vaccine is still in clinical trials, with the early-stage phase 1/2 study expected to read out within the next three months.
The jag is expected to be given as two doses and is being made at a site in West Lothian, with the Government saying the new deal "will bolster long-term vaccine production in Scotland".
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