Vaccinating by age will ‘provide the greatest benefit in the shortest time’
People aged 40-49 will be prioritised next for a Covid-19 vaccine, with scientific advisers saying the move will "provide the greatest benefit in the shortest time".
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had considered whether groups such as teachers and police officers should be vaccinated next, but concluded the most effective way to prevent death and hospital admission is to carry on prioritising people by age.
It said modelling studies for phase 2 of the vaccination programme also indicate that the speed of vaccine deployment is the most important factor in helping prevent severe illness and death.
This means that in phase 2, priority will be given in the following order:
- All those aged 40-49
- All those aged 30-39 - All those aged 18-29 These groups will be vaccinated once all those in phase 1 (the over-50s and most vulnerable) have received a jab, with the Government having a set of target for them of mid-april.
Speaking at the daily briefing on Friday, the Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman announced Scotland would follow the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice on the next stage of the coronavirus vaccination programme, which goes by age.
She said: “I understand why some of our professions and our sectoral groups may be disappointed in the JCVI’S advice, but they are crystal clear about where the greatest risk factor lies and it lies on age.
"It doesn't lie on the basis of where you work, but on how old you are as well as if you have underlying health conditions or are clinically extremely vulnerable.
“We're working through those groups. It is the right thing for this government and indeed the other governments of the UK to follow that clinical advice.
“Logistically it also makes significant sense. It is straightforward for us to identify people on the basis of their age through our NHS Scotland highly secure and protected records.
“It is much more difficult to go through those records and pull out who is a teacher, who works for the police force, who does something else that takes longer.
“The JCVI have said from the very start ‘go as quickly as you can’.
“In 30 years no government in Scotland has gone against the advice of the JCVI and there's a really good reason for that is this is clinical expert advice.”
National clinical director Jason Leitch said: “Health and social care workers have an occupational exemption, not because of who they are, but who they look after.
“If you are a 26-year-old nurse in an intensive care unit, you’ve been vaccinated because of the 85-year-olds in intensive care, not because of your risk.
“The joint committee has been crystal clear this morning.”
Ms Freeman explained the rollout was the same across all parts of the UK and that every administration was on track.
She said: “We welcome the interim advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation for phase two of the vaccine deployment programme to continue prioritising people for vaccinations by age, as this is assessed to be the best way to address the risk of severe illness and mortality.
“All four UK nations will follow the recommended approach for phase two of the vaccine rollout, subject to the final advice given by the independent expert committee.
“Each government remains focused on the target to offer a first vaccination to all those in the phase one priority groups by the middle of April and the remainder of the adult population by the end of July subject to the availability of supplies.
“The vaccination programme is one of three key ways we are working to beat this virus, along with our expanded testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission and the important lockdown restrictions everyone in Scotland must follow.
“All these measures work to greatest effect when they work together.”
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair for the JCVI, told a briefing that age "remains a dominant factor - it is still one of the most important causes of severe disease, even in those aged 50 years and below".
In a statement, he added: "Vaccinations stop people from dying and the current strategy is to prioritise those who are more likely to have severe outcomes and die from Covid-19.
"The evidence is clear that the risk of hospitalisation and death increases with age.
"The vaccination programme is a huge success and continuing the agebased rollout will provide the greatest benefit in the shortest time, including to those in occupations at a higher risk of exposure."
A UK Government spokeswoman said the JCVI advice reflected the fact age remains "the strongest factor" linked to death and hospital admission and "the speed of delivery (of vaccines) is crucial."
The JCVI said that targeting occupational groups, such as teachers, would have been more complex to deliver and may slow down the vaccine programme, leaving some vulnerable people at higher risk for longer.
It also said that, operationally, simple and easyto-deliver programmes are "critical for rapid deployment and high vaccine uptake".