Vaccine supply delay looms for the under-50s in April
MORE than two million people in Scotland have now had a first dose of a Covid vaccine. Nicola Sturgeon revealed the milestone had been reached on Wednesday but said that supplies were expected to be lower next month.
She said that she has had talks with representatives from AstraZenica and Pfizer and that it is anticipated that Scotland would receive 500,000 fewer doses in April than previously planned.
She said however, that it was still the intention to give a first dose to all people aged over 50 and those with underlying health conditions by the middle of April.
Sturgeon said the latest total number of first doses of vaccinations given was 2,023,002.
There were another 41,000 given on Wednesday and another 10,221 second doses given, taking that total to 192,100.
She said in April there will be a need to prioritise the second doses and that all adults would still be vaccinated by the end of July. Sturgeon added: “We can expect steady progress out of lockdown.”
The issue has arisen with problems over a shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India which has encountered problems with the head of the Serum Institute of India suggesting the country’s government may be blocking exports to the UK.
Professor Jason Leitch, the National Clinical Director, Professor Jason Leitch, told MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 committee the targets for over-50s should still be met but there could be an impact on who gets it next.
He said: “Our present understanding is we can still meet the mid-April offer for the first nine groups of a vaccine and we can still meet our end of July target for the whole adult population.” He added: “It will inevitably mean that after the top nine, we will just have to think about who comes next and when they come next.”
However, he said the supply issue should not have an impact on the second doses as they are mostly the Pfizer vaccine.
He added: “The other important thing is there is no suggestion from either company that the end point number is any different, it’s about the lumpiness of the supply, not about the total supply.
“It’s not that we’re suddenly not going to get five million doses, it’s that the five million doses are going to come in slightly lumpier form than expected.
“We’re as confident as we can be today, that of course could change, and we need to keep the modelling under daily review and we have teams of people doing that following yesterday’s news in particular.”
Meanwhile the UK Labour leader, Keir Starmer, is the latest politician to state he has confidence in the safety of the AstraZenica vaccine.
At a visit to a vaccination centre in Edinburgh with Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader said: “I think the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, the experts are telling us it is safe and I would urge everybody who is invited to come forward to have the vaccine.
“I myself had AstraZeneca last Sunday, so I’m not just saying this. I’ve had that vaccine, the Oxford-AstraZeneca, it’s safe.
“Please, if you are invited to come forward, come forward and have the vaccine.”
He said clarity is needed on the issue with the vaccine supplies.
“We need to get to the bottom of it and we need transparency from the Government about what the problem is.
“I say that in a constructive spirit because we want everybody to be vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Another 624 positive cases were reported across Scotland. There were 405 people in hospital with Covid-19, a reduction of 17. There were 38 people in intensive care, the same number as the day before.
Seven deaths were registered.
It’s about the lumpiness of the supply, not about the total supply