Vaccine rollout is a boost for care home

A Perth care home has told the PA the vaccine rollout is raising spirits among residents and staff.

It comes as NHS Tayside confirmed it had vaccinated more than 51,000 people from the first priority group and would now press on with the nest stage of the roll out.

Ochil Care Home on Perth’s Ettrick Drive is run by Barchester.

A spokesperson for the care home said:“The vaccine roll out has lifted everyone’s spirits and we are sure these vaccinations are a major step towards our homes being filled with the buzz of visitors once again.

“As of January 29, 88 per cent of our residents and 85 per cent of our staff at Ochil Care Home have now had at least the first part of the COVID-19 vaccine and the numbers are continuing to increase here and across our homes every day as the ramp up of the programme develops, and our teams are working hard with NHS teams to make this happen as quickly as possible.”

People aged 65 to 79 and those classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, which are those who were asked to shield, will begin to be invited to GP practices or community clinics.

GP practices are currently contacting their eligible patients to book appointments and NHS Tayside assures people that they will be contacted directly when it is their allotted time to come, there is no need to contact their GP.

A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said:“This is a significant step in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic but the virus is still circulating widely in all communities across Tayside.

“It takes two to three weeks for the vaccine to give protection and it’s not yet known whether having the vaccine stops people passing on the virus.

“So it is really important for everyone, even if they have been vaccinated, to continue to follow all the rules and the FACTS guidance.”

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 infection rate in Perth and Kinross is continuing to fall, according to the latest figures.

Data from Public Health Scotland shows an infection rate of 117.8 per 100,000 people on January 28.

That is a decrease from 148.7 the previous week.