First wave to be double vaccinated by the spring
The “first wave” of Scottish adults in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine should receive the double jab by the spring, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said.
And she confirmed it will b e possible to take the vaccine into care homes to inoculate vulnera b l e r e s i d e n t s a mi d p r e v i o u s concerns the low temperatures it must be stored at could prevent this.
Ms Freeman was told yesterday, after talks involving S cotland’s C h i e f P h a r mace u t i c a l Of f i c e r, the vaccine c ould be moved more easily than first thought.
“We now have confirmation on the basis of the stability data that the Pfizer vaccine can be transpor ted in an unfrozen state for up to 12 hours and can be stored undiluted for up to five days,” she told MSPS.
The “first wave” of S cottish adults in line to receive the corona virus vaccine should receive the double jab by the spring, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said.
And she confirmed it will be possible to take the vaccine into care homes to inoculate vulnerable residents amid previous concerns the low temperature sit must be stored at could prevent this.
Ms Freeman was told yesterday, after talks involving Scotland’ s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, the vaccine could be moved more easily than first thought.
“We now have confirmation on the basis of the stability data that the Pfizer vaccine can be transported in an unfrozen state for up to 12 hours and can be stored undiluted for up to five days,” she told MSPS.
"I’m also pleased to confirm that under certain conditions we can pack down to smaller pack sizes, both of which makes this vaccine more usable with minimum waste for care home residents and for our older citizens.
"So in effect we can take the vaccine to them or close to them and we will begin that exercise from the 14th of December.”
When the first batch es of
the vaccine arrive next week, they will be stored in the 23 commercial freezers around the country to keep at the -70C required.
Ms Freeman said“on the basis that we receive the vaccine supply we expect when expect we should be able to vaccinate the first phase by spring of next year”.
The first wave of adults are those delivering the vaccination programme, frontline health and social care staff, care homes residents, over80s and carers and personal assistants.
About 65,000 dose soft he vaccine will arrive in Scotland by Tuesday.
About 2,000 vaccination staff will be needed by the end of January to dispense the double jab, three weeks apart, across the country. An existing core of staff from the flu programme will switch over the to the Covid vaccine in the first instance, Ms Freeman said.
Staff are currently being recruited from emergency registers and from the NHS recruitment portal, as well as drawing from the wider workforce of GPs, pharmacists, dentists and optometrists.
About 160 vaccinators will be in place by Tuesday to start the programme, Ms Freeman told MSPS.
Pregnant women, or women who were planning to be pregnant in the next three months, should not take the Pfizer vaccine.
And she confirmed 16 and 17- year-olds wit hun derlying health conditions would be vaccinated, following a request from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Half of the initial supplies of the vaccine that arrive in Scotland in December will be held back for the second dose.
The introduction of mass vaccination centres was "further down the line", Ms Freeman told MSPS
Everyone in Scotland over the age of 18 will be offered a vaccination.
The UK'S Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has drawn up advice on how people should be prioritised.
The location where the vaccines will be stored in Scotland is not being disclosed on the grounds of security, MSPS heard.
The news came after Nicola Sturgeon revealed MSPS are to be armed with information to counter “dangerous myths and misinformation” about the Covid-19 vaccines.
The First Minister said it was vital that government, politicians, media and social media took their“responsibilities seriously” to ensure people were not deterred from taking the vaccine.
The issue of misinformation was raised in First Minister's Questions by Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard, who said it was in everyone's interests that "as many people as possible” receive the vaccine.
He said: “Public confidence is critical to that. This vaccine has been tested to the highest possible standard. However, we’re already being faced with the spread of dangerous misinformation which seeks to persuade people other wise. Ever y member of this Parliament has a role to play to make sure the public know the vaccine is safe and in encouraging people to come for ward and be vaccinated.”ms Sturgeon agreed there was a responsibility on MSPS to“persuade people to come forward for vaccination, that is it’s safe and in their interest and in our collective interest that the maximum number of people take up the opportunity” to be vaccinated.
She said: "Although this first vaccine to be given authorisation has gone through a process that is quick, that is a real credit to the global science community and no corners have been cut in the regulatory process. All normal procedures have been followed and people can have confidence in this vaccine.”
She said the government carried out weekly polling to assess public attitudes “on a whole range of matters associated with Covid”.
Ms Sturgeon said :“The health secretary will make information available to MSPS next week so they can counter some of the myths and mi sinformation that we can already see on social media about vaccination It's absolutely vital that everyone, government, MSPS, but also media take this responsibility very seriously. I’m not in one of the early priority groups for the vaccine, but as soon as I’m eligible I will be there.”