FLU JAB CHAOS
999 workers and elderly face delays for vital vaccine
FRONTLINE ambulance staff claim they are struggling to get vital flu vaccines in several parts of the country.
The staff are among the key workers who are most in need of the vaccines as they come into contact with people affected during flu season.
And with health experts warning a combination of flu and coronavirus could have killer consequences workers are concerned they have not yet had their jabs.
An ambulance insider said: “Lanarkshire colleagues at the Scottish Ambulance Service are among those reporting that there is a massive shortage of flu jabs for staff.”
And those in the NHS are not alone in finding it difficult to access the vaccines.
In many parts of the country, the elderly are reporting they have been finding it impossible to get appointments and had resorted to paying for them privately until pharmacists also ran out.
In Glasgow, one pensioner waiting for a vaccine, Mary Robertson, said: “My husband and I both get the flu jab.
“Our GP surgery normally gets in touch but it is coming from NHS Scotland this year. I phoned up at the end of September and I was told it could be another eight to 10 weeks before we get our injections.
“I was so concerned I decided we would pay to get them done privately but the pharmacies at Boo t s , Morrisons, Tesco and Asda are all fully booked and not taking any more appointments.
“In Edinburgh, they have set up a drive-through but what about us in Glasgow?”
Last night, Labour’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: “Older people in particular have been hit hard by the pandemic and now it appears they’re being badly let down on flu vaccination too.”
A Scottish Ambulance spokesman said: “Our national vaccine programme for Scottish Ambulance Staff is going very well and we are already delivering more vaccinations in the first three weeks of our 2020 programme than we did in the entire of last year.”