SNP ‘TOO SLOW’ ON VACCINES ROLLOUT
Fears Scotland ‘behind the curve’ in vaccination race revealed in explosive claim by top UK government source
NICOLA Sturgeon was last night under pressure to speed up Scotland’s Covid vaccination effort amid fears her government is ‘behind the curve’ on the life-saving jab rollout.
UK Government sources say more than a million doses are heading north of the Border and everyone over 70 should be vaccinated by the end of this month. But in an attack on the Scottish Government, they have warned older people are not being vaccinated quickly enough.
And they have challenged the First Minister to match the more ambitious vaccination targets Boris Johnson has set out for England.
One UK government insider explained: ‘We are confident vaccines can be delivered faster than over the four weeks set out by the First Minister.’
The row raises serious questions about
the biggest vaccination campaign in Scottish history – as doctors also warn of a ‘major shortage’ of GPs. It comes as:
The Queen and Prince Philip received their first doses of the vaccine;
The UK Government announced plans for a massive testing blitz to reduce transmission of Covid – by testing people who cannot work from home, even if they aren’t showing symptoms;
Scotland recorded a further 93 deaths and a record number of Covid patients now in hospital;
The UK’s Covid death toll passed 80,000, after a further 1,035 deaths were recorded yesterday.
The new row over vaccinations in Scotland centres on the speed with which the most vulnerable can receive their jabs.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has set out the order in which people should be vaccinated, starting with care home staff and residents.
Ms Sturgeon has said they, along with over-80s, and NHS and care workers will receive their first jabs over the next four weeks – with 900,000 doses to be provided.
However, UK Government sources insist considerably more doses are heading to Scotland, and the next two priority groups – over75s and over-70s – could and should be vaccinated by the end of the month as well.
One Whitehall source explained: ‘The Scottish Government will have enough to treat all four priority groups – those aged over 70 and the extremely clinically vulnerable – by the end of January. So we are
‘Confident vaccines can be delivered faster’
confident vaccines can be delivered faster than over the four weeks set out by the First Minister.’
He added there were concerns over the ‘proportion of over-80s’ vaccinated so far, amid fears Scotland is ‘behind the curve’.
It raises questions over whether Scotland is ready for such a major ramp-up of the jabs campaign.
The Scottish Dental Association said many dentists had been ‘put off’ by the training programme, after initially volunteering to be vaccinators, while the MoD said Army medics were not currently lined up to administer jabs, and vets said they were keen to help, but had not been asked.
Dr Andrew Buist, chairman of the BMA’s Scottish GP committee, said: ‘There is a major shortage of GPs, and so taking part in the vaccine rollout is likely to have an impact on the intensity of their working days: they will likely be longer and they may find themselves covering more sessions than normal, perhaps in evenings or at weekends.
‘The Scottish Government pledged to increase GP numbers by 800 by 2027, and it’s times like this when we desperately need to see those figures go up faster. It will be vital that strong public messaging promotes understanding of the pressures GP practices are under – and in turn the public use GP services appropriately.’ Nurses will help lead the vaccination efforts, but warned other professionals will be needed, given the workload they already face. Eileen McKenna, RCN Scotland associate director, said: ‘The scale of the mass vaccination programme cannot be delivered by nursing staff alone despite many volunteering to return to practice or take on additional hours to help with the programme.
‘The RCN has called for a multidisciplinary workforce, that doesn’t impact on other essential services, to be identified and appropriately supported to deliver this vaccination programme.’
But there are questions over whether enough healthcare professionals are lined up.
Gillian Leslie, of the Scottish Dental Association, said: ‘Dentists were asked in most health boards if they wanted to volunteer to deliver vaccines towards the end of last year.
‘Those that put their names forward were directed to do the vaccinator training which is fairly time consuming and arduous. This has put many off.’
She added: ‘Dentists are certainly very keen to help as much they can and the majority have volunteered.
This may change but if they find a way to make the logistics of doing vaccines within practices easy, I think most will be happy to do what they can.’
The Army is assisting with strategy and planning, but this does not extend to Army medics administering the jabs. An MoD spokesman said: ‘In Scotland, 21 members of the Armed Forces have been tasked to support them in logistics planning for community testing and vaccination, as well as other strategic planning tasks as needed.’
James Russell, president of the British Veterinary Association, said: ‘The profession hasn’t had an official call from the Government on vaccinations, and this is likely because it recognises the current pressures on the UK veterinary workforce. We of course remain ready to help in any way we can.’
The Scottish Government has identified 1,100 ‘vaccination centres’ – mostly GP surgeries and hospitals, but also including sports venues and community centres.
It has also agreed a deal with pharmacists, who could now be enlisted by health boards to either vaccinate in their own pharmacies or at the mass vaccination centres.
Of Scotland’s larger NHS boards, only NHS Lothian has been able to identify likely mass vaccination centres – the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Queen Margaret University in East Lothian, and the Pyramids Business Park in West Lothian.
However, it is understood the Scottish Government is also looking at airports and major sports stadiums.
Adam Osprey, of Community Pharmacy Scotland, which represents chemists, said: ‘We worked with Scottish Government colleagues to agree the framework for pharmacy participation in vaccination.
‘Some forms of the vaccine are trickier to handle in the community environment, but pharmacies will be able to participate more easily when routine use of vaccines that require standard handling conditions is established.’
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: ‘We have already vaccinated a higher percentage of our population than most other countries worldwide, with the programme for vaccinating care home residents well over halfway through.
‘We have a growing core of well over 2,300 trained and experienced vaccinators, including dentists, GPs and pharmacists.’
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: ‘The UK Government has procured and paid for millions of vaccine doses.
‘The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland now need to get that supply of jabs into as many people’s arms as soon as possible.’
‘Get jabs into as many arms as possible’