YOUNG SCOTS MUST GET JABS
Sturgeon warns vaccine refuseniks are jeopardising relaxation of rules as 500,000 have yet to have first dose
YOUNGER people who are refusing to get the Covid vaccine are putting the return of normal life under threat, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.
The First Minister said yesterday that everyone who fails to get the jab holds back Scotland’s progress against the virus.
There is growing concern about the sluggish rollout to those in their twenties and thirties – as the number of people getting the first dose slumped to the second lowest figure since the start of the vaccination programme.
Nearly half a million Scots still have not received the first dose, and yesterday’s latest figures showed only 2,483 people received it on Monday.
The slow progress is raising fears that plans to lift all restrictions from August 9 may be under threat unless more is done to encourage people to come forward. Ministers are being urged to step up efforts to target those who have been reluctant to have the jab.
However, some hopes were raised
yesterday that case numbers in the third wave have now peaked and are on a ‘downward path’.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘To put it bluntly, each and every single person who gets jagged helps us take a step back to normality.
‘And of course the converse of that is true, for as long as there remains a proportion of eligible people who have not had the vaccine, that leaves us with a vulnerability against the virus. So we must keep at it.’
She said any decision on whether to go ahead with the plan to remove all mandatory restrictions from August 9 will be taken ‘on the basis of all of the evidence as we get towards that’.
The First Minister added: ‘Every day right now it remains the case that literally every individual that is vaccinated represents a wee step forward on that road back to normality.
‘And conversely, every time we have got somebody who could be vaccinated who is not, there is a vulnerability there to this virus that potentially holds back our progress.
‘So I can’t stress enough how important it is if you are in the eligible groups to come forward to get vaccinated.’
The warning came as the latest figures showed 3,984,433 adults have received the first dose in Scotland – leaving 477,418 who still have not been jabbed. Some 2,995,086 have received the second dose, which is 67.3 per cent of all adults.
But the number of people receiving the first dose has slowed dramatically, to only 2,483 yesterday, compared with 5,928 the previous day and 7,163 on the same day last week.
Yesterday’s daily total of first doses was the second lowest number since the routine reporting of statistics began in January.
If the current rate of progress continues, there will be 430,241 adults who have not received the first dose by August 9.
While almost everyone over the age of 55 has received the first dose, take-up falls dramatically among younger age groups, to 81 per cent of those aged 30-39, and 70 per cent of those in the 18-29 age group. During a coronavirus briefing yesterday, Miss Sturgeon said she did not want to speculate on the ‘doomladen consequences’ of people not taking up the vaccination and would focus instead on urging people to come forward.
She said: ‘People are not stupid, they understand the implications of that.
‘I am going to put all of my efforts into persuading those who have not taken up the opportunity of vaccination to get vaccinated, because that is the best route for all of us out of the situation we’re in right now.’
Miss Sturgeon failed to give any details of what measures she was taking to encourage younger age groups to come forward, although she said accessibility issues and fears people have about vaccines needed to continue to be addressed. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon has to stop mincing her words and tell it straight – the SNP’s slow progress is risking the planned easing of restrictions on August 9.
‘The First Minister should be honest with people, instead of dancing around the issue.
‘It is vital for the easing of restrictions that everyone who is able to get the vaccine does exactly that.’
Mr Ross added: ‘There was no further indication of what the Government are doing to increase uptake among young people. Nicola Sturgeon was short of answers on increasing the ease of access to vaccine drop-in centres for the parts of the country where coverage needs to be expanded.
‘Beyond the same TV advert that the SNP Government have been using for months, there is no sign of an expanded marketing programme targeted towards young people, particularly on social media channels where they’re more likely to be reached.’
Mr Ross said that, at the moment, ‘it seems like the SNP are happy to sit back and hope more young people come forward to get their vaccine, without doing much as a government to encourage and support them to do so’.
Yesterday’s official figures also showed a further 1,604 people had tested positive, while those in hospital with the virus fell by seven, to 529. Of those, 47 were in intensive care, up two on the previous day.
In the seven days to Friday, July 2, there were an average of 3,305 new cases per day but this fell to 2,112 in the seven days to last Friday, down more than a third.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Although case numbers remain high, they are very much right now on a downward path.’
‘Stop mincing her words’ ‘SNP are happy to sit back’