Roll up your sleeves
Sturgeon urges Scots to get jab as soon as first dose is offered, despite reluctance of some care home staff
NICOLA Sturgeon has urged Scots to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated against as coronavirus as soon as they are offered a first dose.
The First Minister made the appeal following concerns that a small percentage of care home staff were reluctant to receive the jab.
The SNP leader revealed that 264,991 people have so far been vaccinated in Scotland, adding that everyone over the age of 65 should have received the jab by the beginning of March.
Speaking at her media briefing yesterday, she said having first focused on care home residents, Scotland was seeking to “rapidly expand” its vaccination programme.
Sturgeon added she was “hopeful” that all adults north of the Border will have been given their first dose of the vaccine by September.
With the UK Government already having declared this as its ambition, the First Minister said the Scottish Government “would broadly be of the same aspiration”.
But with 4.4million people in Scotland to be vaccinated, she said whether or not this could be achieved would depend on supplies of the vaccine.
It is understood that the Scottish Government has received more than 700,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines so far.
And the First Minister confirmed almost all care home residents have now received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Asked about the September target, Sturgeon said: “We think if all the supplies we are expecting come through then I would be hopeful that we will be in the position of doing the whole adult population in that kind of timeline. But the caveat here is always going to be supply dependent.”
When asked about care home staff being reluctant to be vaccinated, Sturgeon said: “We are working very hard to make sure that any concerns staff have are being properly addressed and responded to.
“It’s in everybody’s interests, wherever you are, whatever age you are, my strong, strong, plea and advice is to get the vaccine.
“It’s for your own good and it helps us collectively fight this virus.
“As soon as I get the opportunity to get this vaccine, I’ll be there with my sleeves rolled up getting it and I would encourage everybody to do likewise.”
Dr Gregor Smith, Scotland’s chief medical officer, urged everyone to consult “trusted sources” on vaccines and not to rely on unverified articles shared on social media.
He said: “One of the biggest dangers that we face is misinformation in relation to vaccination, and when I hear about particularly targeted misinformation, it makes me really concerned.
“My plea to everyone is to read trusted sources of information in relation to the
vaccination. Myself and the chief nursing officer will be writing out to all care home staff to explain exactly the rationale behind the vaccination.
“The safety elements to this vaccination are strongly proven in terms of the trial and research.”
Last week, Scottish Care said the majority of homes in Scotland had been targeted by a “concerted campaign” to discourage uptake of the vaccine. Chief executive Dr Donald Macaskill said the campaign was “wholly despicable”.
He said yesterday: “We are pleased that there are signs that many more care staff are taking up the offer of the vaccine.
“Many care homes are reporting uptake over 90 per cent.
“We know that this gives both individuals and their families, their colleagues and those they care for real protection.”
The First Minister revealed that Scotland had recorded 1429 positive coronavirus tests in the past 24 hours.
She said no deaths have been recorded, meaning the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – stands at 5305.
The announcement came as soldiers from the Royal Army Medical Corps and Leuchars-based Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are helping to set up 80 new Covid vaccination centres across Scotland.
The Ministry of Defence said the deployment was the “largest peacetime resilience operation” to be undertaken by the UK Armed Forces.