Vaccinations against Covid-19 set to start next week as First Minister welcomes 'the best news we have heard since this pandemic started'
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Covid vaccinations are expected to start in Scotland from Tuesday, according to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
A clearly delighted Ms Sturgeon described the development as "without a shadow of a doubt the best news" since the start of the pandemic.
This comes after the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine was approved for use in the UK this morning by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority.
Ms Sturgeon said, following guidance from the Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination, the first people to get the vaccination will be:
- Those administering the vaccinations
- Older residents in care homes
- Health and social care workers
- Those aged over 80
She expects that first phase of vaccinations to be completed at some point early in the New Year.
Ms Sturgeon said: “I want to very warmly and very enthusiastically welcome the news that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNtech has been authorised for supply in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority.
“This isn’t unexpected but nevertheless because it confirms that a safe and effective vaccine can now be used it is without a shadow of a doubt the best news we have heard since this pandemic started.
“Today is genuinely a good day, we are not at the end of this pandemic yet but of course we cannot and must not ease up in our efforts to control it but today does feel like it may well be the beginning of the end of this horrible experience.
“For that reason I am sure that I am far from the only one who feels a lightness of heart that I haven’t felt in quite some time.
“In terms of the detail, we expect the vaccines to be delivered over the course of December and we expect that will start to happen over the course of the next few days.
“And if we receive the first doses of the vaccine as soon as we are expecting to, and there is no reason to doubt that, then I can confirm to you that the first vaccines against Covid will be administered on Tuesday December 8 – that is just six days from now.
“I will say that again – the first vaccines against Covid will be administered in Scotland on Tuesday, December 8.
“It is, of course, worth noting that everyone will be required to take two doses of the vaccine and these will be likely to be offered 21 to 28 days apart, so it is likely that it is very likely to take until early in the new year to complete the first vaccine courses.
“There is no doubt that to be able to start a vaccination course next week is absolutely fantastic news.
“We will of course start by vaccinating those who will be vaccinating everyone else, as you would expect. We will then follow the independent advice from the Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination – they have recommended prioritising those with the greatest clinical need.
“Older residents in care homes, health and social care workers, those aged over 80, these groups will therefore be the first people who we seek to vaccinate.”
