COVID JABS WARNING AS DEATH TOLL HITS 10,000
Vaccination programme ‘must be speeded up’ as Scotland passes grim new landmark
SCOTLAND’S Covid death toll has passed the grim milestone of 10,000 – despite the successful vaccination programme.
experts said the mounting number of deaths was a stark reminder of the need for everyone to get a coronavirus jab as quickly as possible.
It comes as medicines regulators warn that under-30s should not receive the UK’s main vaccine, AstraZeneca, because of a very small risk of blood clots.
National records of Scotland (NrS) figures show that 38 deaths relating to Covid-19 were registered last week, bringing the total number of fatalities up to Sunday to 9,997.
Since then, six deaths have been recorded in the daily figures from public Health Scotland.
NrS warned that with fewer registrations than usual this week because of the public holiday for easter, the true figure for fatalities may be higher. Yesterday, national
clinical director Professor Jason Leitch said that one death and 364 positive tests for the virus were recorded in the previous 24 hours.
Both Professor Leitch and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon are due to receive their Covid jabs in the next few days and both have said they will be happy with whichever one they receive.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said that while it has not concluded the AstraZeneca vaccine causes rare brain clots, the link is getting firmer – though it insisted the benefits of the jab still outweigh the risks overall.
The regulators have recommended that people under the age of 30 should be offered Pfizer or Moderna as alternatives.
Professor Leitch said: ‘If you end up in intensive care there is a one in four chance of a serious blood clot which knocks the other risks
‘These vaccines are safe’
out of the park, and therefore vaccinating everybody and everybody turning up for their appointments is the crucial message.
‘Ten thousand people have unfortunately lost their lives to this disease in this country and nothing like that number have lost anything – either illness or the few deaths there have been – because of blood clots from AstraZeneca, so these three vaccines are safe.
‘The crucial message is if you are offered a vaccine, you should absolutely take it.’
The MHRA said across the UK to March 31, there were 79 reports of blood clots among people who had had their first AstraZeneca jab, out of around 20million doses given. Of these, 19 had died.
The figures suggest the risk of blood clots is equivalent to four people out of every million who receive the vaccine.
Responding to Scotland’s
Covid death toll, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: ‘This tragic milestone serves to remind us about the devastation wreaked by the virus.
‘Were it not for our incredible NHS and our collective effort in adhering to the restrictions, the toll could have been even greater. As the number of people vaccinated grows by the day, so too does our optimism for a brighter future.’
About one-third of Scotland’s Covid-19 deaths occurred in care homes and in the early days of the pandemic, patients with the infection were discharged from hospitals to care homes.
Last night, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman admitted: ‘We didn’t take the right precautions to make sure that older people leaving hospital going into care homes were as safe as they could be and that was a mistake.’
Mr Ross said the SNP ‘made a grave error’ and ‘tried to hide it from the public’.
Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘These admissions will offer no comfort to the families of those who needlessly lost loved ones due to the Scottish Government’s errors.’