FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a picture of her blue envelope this afternoon as she revealed she has been invited to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
The SNP leader joked that receiving the letter “really does soften the blow of being 50” as she shared the image.
Sturgeon extended her thanks to Scotland’s vaccination teams as she confirmed the nation is on track to offer first doses to over 50s, unpaid carers, and adults with underlying health conditions by mid-April – and all adults by the end of July, depending on the availability of supplies.
My blue envelope has arrived (it really does soften the blow of being 50!)
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 26, 2021
We’re on track to offer first doses to all over 50s, unpaid carers & adults with underlying health condition by mid Apr & and all adults by end Jul (supplies permitting). My thanks to our vaccination teams pic.twitter.com/bDxjyZ9wmw
The First Minister's news came as Scottish researchers found the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine by some countries over blood clotting concerns had no impact on the UK public’s intention of getting the jag.
Several European countries including France, Germany and Italy suspended use of the vaccine last week, although they later said they would resume its rollout after the European Medicines Agency regulator concluded it is “safe and effective”.
University of Stirling researchers were collecting data for a wider project on fear and concerns relating to Covid-19 and examined whether negative news reports about the AstraZeneca jab resulted in “vaccine hesitancy”.
Comparing data from March 12-15, before the story reached its peak, with that from March 17, the day after the story peaked, they found no drop in intentions or attitudes towards getting the jab.
On Monday March 15, researchers found 83.3% of respondents said they intended to receive the vaccine. On March 17, the figure was 86.1%.
READ MORE: AstraZeneca vaccine 100 per cent effective against severe Covid, study finds
Dr David Comerford, of the university’s Behavioural Science Centre, said: “Our data provided time-lapse footage of the public’s response to the story.
“We found no effect of the press stories on intentions to take the vaccine or on intentions to refuse it. Furthermore, there was no change to the perceived costs and benefits of being vaccinated.
“This is not to say that the UK public were not concerned by the news. Google Trends data shows increasing search activity for the terms ‘vaccine’ and ‘safe’ as the AstraZeneca suspension story was unfolding, but that concern did not translate into mistrust of the vaccination programme in the UK.
“In fact, a record number of people took the vaccine on the following Saturday, March 20.”
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