A HANDFUL of people who have had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine are in Scottish hospitals to be treated for the Indian variant of the virus, according to reports.
It comes as the Scottish Government decided to keep Moray and Glasgow under level 3 restrictions – with evidence showing the Covid spike in Scotland’s biggest city may be linked to the Indian variant.
In England, Boris Johnson decided to push on with easing of restrictions this Monday but said second doses of the vaccine would be accelerated among the over-50s.
READ MORE: Vaccines 'almost certainly' less effective at reducing transmission of Indian variant
He added that the spread of the Indian variant may derail plans to fully open up society next month.
A high-level source told the Daily Record that there are six patients in Scotland who have had at least one dose of the vaccine being treated for complications believed to be linked to the variant.
They told the newspaper: “At least one person has had two doses. It is part of the reason for the concern.”
Covid vaccines are “almost certainly less effective” at reducing transmission of the new variant, according to the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The vaccines may be less effective against mild disease but we don’t think they’re less effective against severe disease.
“But in combination with being less effective against mild disease, they’re almost certainly less effective against transmission.”
Professor Anthony Harnden also defended the approach of bringing forward second jabs rather than speeding up the rollout to younger people.He said that targeting more vulnerable people with full immunity is a “better strategy”.
He told listeners: “The reason we think this is if we immunise 18-29 year olds, for instance, in these areas we’ll be taking vaccines from somebody else in the country.
“The vaccines may be less effective against transmission and immunity takes a number of weeks to develop, so it’s not a very good strategy for preventing transmission, what we want is to prevent disease.”
Meanwhile, businesses in Glasgow and Moray expressed anger that they would have to wait longer for restrictions to ease.
Andrew McRae, the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland policy chairman, said the news was “crushing” for businesses and their customers.
He said: “The damage of this change, especially in Glasgow, is exacerbated by the lateness of this announcement.
“It means wasted stock, disappointed customers and increased debt.
“Scotland’s largest city has faced tough restrictions for months and months, doing untold harm to local firms.
“While the action proposed may or may not be necessary, pushing it out the door at close of play on a Friday will further undermine independent businesses.”
The latest figures published yesterday showed there were 80.4 cases per 100,000 people in Glasgow in the seven days to May 11, pushing it ahead of Moray where there were 68.9.
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