‘THEY’VE DITHERED & DELAYED’
FM slammed over booster lag that leaves 100,000 waiting
MORE than 100,000 have had to wait longer than six months for booster jabs amid growing concerns about the sluggish rollout.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday faced cross-party criticism over the number of Scotland’s most vulnerable waiting more than the recommended period after their second Covid jab.
Public Health Scotland figures showed that 616,000 people in the top priority groups – including care home residents and staff, former shielders, those over the age of 70 and frontline health and care workers – were now due their booster dose. But only 511,807 in these groups had received it.
The First Minister was urged to create more local vaccine clinics to avoid elderly people having to travel long distances and faced questions on why NHS Grampian was still waiting to hear about army help more than a week after it requested assistance.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: ‘Those 100,000 people should be getting a jag now but the First Minister couldn’t say what is holding those jags up.’
Miss Sturgeon agreed to reassess the number of vaccine clinics but Mr Ross asked: ‘Why has the situation been allowed to reach this critical point?’
He added: ‘Repeatedly, the SNP Government has failed to properly plan ahead and heed the warning signs. This government has dithered and delayed instead of acting.
‘Way back in January, when the Covid vaccine was first rolled out, there was a real urgency to deliver it. Where is that urgency now?’
During a Covid update to MSPs in the Scottish parliament yesterday, Miss Sturgeon said ‘no immediate changes’ were being made to coronavirus restrictions but raised concerns about the ‘fragile’ situation as cases have begun to slightly increase again after levelling off in recent weeks.
Concerns were raised about an increase in older people being admitted to hospitals.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘On the rollout of booster jabs, which is the single most important thing we are focused on right now, our vaccination rates are broadly in line with the rest of the UK.
‘We are doing everything we can to accelerate that within the confines of the JCVi advice.’
She added: ‘We will continue to assess on an ongoing basis the number and location of vaccination clinics.’
NHS Grampian’s request for military assistance was being ‘refined’ before it is submitted.
Scottish labour leader anas
Sarwar said: ‘The Government is claiming that the booster programme is on track, but today we learned that up to 104,000 people who are at higher risk from Covid19 are still waiting for a booster, having already waited longer than six months.
‘We are hearing about long queues in all weathers outside vaccination centres and about people being asked to travel many miles for their booster.’
Miss Sturgeon suggested that the ‘right’ decision to prioritise care home staff and residents may be slowing down the rollout – as it did at the start of the vaccination programme.
Scottish liberal Democrat leader alex Cole-Hamilton condemned delays to the vaccine appointment booking portal, which was scheduled for October then delayed to mid-November, saying the Government had ‘a duty to step up their efforts to get the basics right’.