‘A wee bit of a surprise, but worth a try’ – Scots react to new Moderna jag on first day of rollout
Scots have welcomed being among the first in the country to receive the new Moderna vaccine against coronavirus.
The vaccine was only delivered to Scotland at the start of the week, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) becomingthefirsthealthboard north of the border to roll out the first doses.
People who visited the vaccination centre at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Wednesday were given Moderna, including Alistair Mcmaster.
The55-year-old,whosemother received Astrazeneca, said: "Itwasfine,easy,nopainoranything.
"I asked what one it was and (the nurse) said it was the new one just tried out today for the first time - so a wee bit of a surprise, but worth a try."
Sam Ferguson and Heather Mcgregor were also both surprisedtofindouttheywerealso among the first.
Mr Ferguson, 52, said he had beentalkingtoworkmateswho "were not sure" about Astrazeneca, admitting recent news "puts a doubt in your mind".
As the new vaccine was given to people across the UK, it emerged those aged 18 to 29 will be offered Moderna, Pfizer or other jabs instead of Astrazenecaoverapossiblelinkwith "extremely rare" blood clots.
Msmcgregor,53,added:"like everybody else, you want the safest one out there.
"Themodernaonefromwhat I've heard is probably the better one out of the two. Better being safe than sorry."
Natasha Quinn, 19, was happy to be one of those receiving the Moderna jab on Wednesday.
She said it was "like a normal jag you'd get for the flu" and that while she "wasn't really worried for coming" to the Hydro, she was worried about receiving Astrazeneca. The concert venue formed part of the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital, which closed at the end of March havingopenedinthescottishevent Campus (SEC) last year.
Vaccinationscontinuedthere until April 3 before moving to the Hydro on Tuesday in partnershipwithothernhsboards, running daily clinics for members of the public and with the ability to administer up to 10,000 jabs per day.
Kevin Irvine hailed the "fantastic process" at the vaccination centre, adding: "I obviously didn't know what jag we were getting but to be honest with you I would have taken any of the vaccines.”