SO EMOTIONAL
Sturgeon tells of relief after she is given AstraZeneca vaccine and praises the ‘well-oiled’ teams jabbing the nation
NICOLA Sturgeon has described the “emotional moment” she received her first Covid jab yesterday.
The First Minister was given a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine just hours after announcing the SNP’s manifesto for next month’s Holyrood election
The Nationalist leader was vaccinated at 4pm and shortly after encouraged other Scots to receive their jab as soon as they are offered it to help drive down transmission of coronavirus and to prevent serious illness.
She tweeted: “Just had my first dose of vaccine (AZ for anyone wondering).
“It truly is an emotional moment. Thanks to the wonderful vaccinator who put me so much at ease and to teams across the country.
“Please get vaccinated as soon as you are able. It really will help us back to normal.”
Speaking after her vaccination, the First Minister said: “It was totally pain-free, I didn’t feel a thing. The lovely woman who vaccinated me made it all really easy.
“I guess like many people I felt quite emotional because it’s so important this vaccination programme in helping us all get back to normal.
“My message to everybody – as soon as you get the invite to be vaccinated, come forward, be vaccinated, because it’s such an important part of our route back to normality.”
The SNP leader also praised the work of those who are working to vaccinate the population.
She added: “Thoroughly impressed with the well-oiled machine I saw in there,” she said.
“I just want to say such a huge thank you to everyone across the country who’s delivering this programme – they’re heroes, each and every one of them.”
The First Minister said she was “glad” to have been given the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite it recently being at the centre of blood clot scares.
She said: “I’m actually quite glad I got AstraZeneca because there have been concerns raised and I said that I’m confident it’s safe, but now I’m not just saying that, I’ve also had the AstraZeneca
vaccine, so I’m glad about that.” The First Minister previously urged the public to keep faith in the AstraZeneca vaccine after UK regulators recommended that people under 30 should be offered Pfizer or Moderna.
Speaking earlier this month, she said: “The AstraZeneca vaccine is a safe vaccine and nobody is saying other than that.
“The blood-clotting risk that has been identified is very, very, very rare – this is a precautionary approach.”
Sturgeon joins the 2,708,691 Scots who have received their first dose of a Covid 19 vaccine, while a further 661,975 have had their second, latest figures show.
There were 237 people who tested positive for Covid as of yesterday with one death recorded, while the number of Covid patients in intensive care dropped to 16. Scotland will turn another corner in its journey out of lockdown today as travel restrictions are finally lifted, with people able to legally leave their local authority areas for non-essential purposes for the first time since last year.
Scots will also be allowed to meet up outdoors in groups of six from up to six different households.
The easing of travel restrictions came ahead of schedule under the oute map out of lockdown.
The First Minister is likely to make another Covid statement on Tuesday where she is expected to confirm that non-essential shops will reopen from April 26 as planned.
Hospitality will also be able to reopen at the same time but with restrictions on serving alcohol and customer numbers indoors.