At last, jab gets to care homes
But concern grows over the roll-out of vaccine
A 90-yeAr- old woman became the first care home resident in Scotland to receive the coronavirus vaccine yesterday amid growing concerns over the roll-out.
retired carer Annie Innes, who lives in Abercorn House care home in Hamilton, lanarkshire, said it was ‘wonderful’ to get the injection before Christmas.
Nicola Sturgeon described it as a ‘hugely important step’ in protecting some of the country’s most vulnerable people.
But the First Minister was accused of keeping key details of the vaccine roll-out ‘hidden’ from the public after she refused to say how many other care home residents will receive the jab from the first batch.
out of the initial delivery of 65,000 doses of the vaccine, 18,000 vaccinators and frontline health workers have been immunised.
With each person to receive two doses 28 days apart, it means a further 14,000 will still be able to benefit from the first batch – but
‘Wonderful to get it before Christmas’
the Scottish Government has refused to say who will receive it.
Care home bosses expect only a ‘few hundred’ residents to benefit, with the majority of the 36,000 people in homes needing to wait for future supplies to become available.
After being given the injection, Mrs Innes said: ‘It’s wonderful to get the vaccine before Christmas. I hope it keeps me, my friends here and the staff safe and means we can get back to normal soon.’
She was followed by 82-year-old Margaret Keating, a former bartender, also at Abercorn House.
Miss Sturgeon said it was ‘good and positive news’ that Mrs Innes had become the first care home resident in the country to be vaccinated.
She added: ‘That is obviously a hugely important step in protecting many of the people who are most at risk from this virus.’
However, the Mail revealed yesterday that care home bosses expect only a ‘ few hundred’ residents to benefit from the initial supply, with most likely to have to wait until next year.
Miss Sturgeon said weekly figures detailing the numbers vaccinated will be published f rom tomorrow but said there are ‘complications’ around the transportation and storage of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which ‘will continue to be a constraint on the speed at which we can get it into care homes’.
Asked if she had made a decision on exactly who would get the vaccine from the first batch, and pressed on how many care home residents would benefit, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘There are still some complications in terms of the geography. This vaccine has to be used within a certain number of hours after it is taken out of refrigeration so there are limitations on this, which we are working through.’
Scottish Tory health spokesman donald Cameron said: ‘The SNP have kept crucial details about the Covid vaccine delivery hidden. It should be very straightforward and simple to tell the public exactly who will receive the current batch of the vaccine and when.
‘It’s not asking much for the Government to provide breakdowns by health board area of how many care home residents and vaccinators will get the jag this year.’
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: ‘We are being as transparent and open as we can about all the process. These plans are dependent on the vaccine coming and supplies being confirmed and, we hope very soon, other vaccines.’
At present, NHS staff need to go into care homes to vaccinate residents, although it is hoped that registered nurses in care homes may be able to do it in the future.
The vaccine could only be taken to care homes after a solution was found to enable its transportation from storage hubs. It must initially be stored at -70C before being thawed, but it can be ‘packed down’ into smaller batches that can be taken to care homes with ‘minimal wastage’ as supplies allow.
Care home residents receiving their vaccines this week will get second doses early next year, with 50 per cent of stock held back.
Meanwhile, Miss Sturgeon faced criticism after wrongly claiming repeatedly that Scotland was ‘the first part of the UK to get the vaccine into care homes’ after it emerged residents in Northern Ireland got the jab four days ago.
Mr Cameron said: ‘She should correct the record, as the public must be sure they are getting accurate information.’