Investigation into which groups are not turning up for appointments
An investigation is still ongoing after more than half of patients due for a Covid-19 vaccine appointment at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow last weekend failed to turn up to their appointment.
The reason behind the high level of no-shows is still being looked into by the Scottish Government, although it may be related to a number of appointment letters not having been sent out in time.
There may be a particular cause for so many no-shows, but patients not turning up to their vaccination appointments is not a new problem.
Vaccine take-up has reached 100 per cent in very few JCVI priority groups. In the more recent groups
to be vaccinated, this may be because patients are still waiting for a letter, or have been missed from their cohort, but in earlier groups it is more likely to be out of personal choice.
Among over-80s, 65 to 69-year-olds and 55 to 59-year-olds, a small percentage of people – between one and 2 per cent in each case – have not received a first dose.
The gap is around 3 per cent in older care home residents, and 8 per cent in frontline healthcare workers with specified roles.
It is worth noting that population estimates are approximate, so very small figures like these should be taken with a pinch of salt. In some cohorts the dose coverage has reached over 100 per cent, as the population is larger than the estimate.
Despite this, Covid vaccine take-up has been extremely high – reaching even 92 per cent is far higher than most vaccine rollouts, and well exceeds the initial target of 80 per cent take-up.