FM ‘confident’ health boards set to deliver coronavirus vaccine

Nicola Sturgeon has said she is confident Scotland’s health boards will be ready and able to deliver a coronavirus vaccine when i t becomes available.

After the news Pfizer has had promising results from clinical trials, the first minister said the rollout of any potential vaccine will be “one of the biggest vaccination programmes that we have ever undertaken”.

Asked by Ruth Davidson how the “potential game-changer” can be administered “fairly and equitably across the country”, Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government will set out more details of its plans in the coming weeks.

Responding to the Scottish Conservatives’ Ho l y r o o d l e a d e r, Ms Sturgeon explained the rollout of any vaccine will be co-ordinated by the Scottish Government and implemented by the country ’s 14 health boards.

She added: “The health secretary will, over the next period, set out much more detail of exactly how we will deploy the vacc ine and the programme that will be in place to ensure that is delivered to priority groups across the whole of the country.

“In short, yes we are confident that health boards will be at a level of readiness to deliver that.

“There will be a nationally co-ordinated approach to that , although delivery will be health board-led.”

Ms Sturgeon said priority for who is able to be vaccinated first will be guided by the UK Government ’s Jo i n t C omm i t t e e o n Va c c ina t ion and Immunisation.

She added: “This is going to be one of the biggest vaccination programmes that we have ever undertaken – it will certainly be on a par to flu.

“On the basis of the Pfizer vaccine, we would expect that people will need two doses – three weeks apart – so there are even more complicated log is t ics invo lved in this.”

While urging people to continue to follow the coronavirus guidance to reduce the potential spread of the disease, Ms Sturgeon added: “Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is good news.

“I don ’t want to underplay the questions that are still to be answered about the efficacy of the vaccine, the prioritisation of it, how much immunity it may confer – the scientists are working hard on all of this.

“But I think for the first time in seven months we do have that very distinctive light at the end of the tunnel.”

Ms Davidson said afterwards: “News of this vaccine is promising and, while it’s still early days, we need to ensure we have a fully-fledged delivery programme ready to deploy in every part of the country.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.