Rollout race against time amid fear of w inter chaos
illness. It will run alongside our biggest ever flu vaccine programme – since both of these programmes are important for individual and public health.’
Miss Sturgeon added: ‘Wherever possible, eligible people will be offered Covid and flu vaccines together.’
According to the JCVI recommendation, all those receiving a third dose of the vaccine should receive Pfizer or a half-dose of Moderna.
Anyone who cannot have these due to allergies can be given the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine.
In Scotland, NHS and social care workers will be invited to book vaccine appointments from Monday – with jabs available from this date.
Care home residents will also begin receiving their jabs next week – with both flu and coronavirus vaccines to be offered at the same time.
Adults aged over 70 and anyone over 16 considered to be at high risk will be contacted by their GP or sent a letter inviting them for a third jab.
The rollout will then be extended to everyone over the age of 50, as well as adult carers, unpaid and young carers, 16 to 49year-olds with underlying health conditions and adults living with immunosuppressed individuals. They will be able to book an appointment online from the beginning of next month.
Miss Sturgeon also confirmed that vaccines will be given to 12 to 15-year-olds from Monday.
Children will be offered a single dose of the Pfizer jab and could be allowed to overrule their parents’ decision on whether or not they receive an injection.
Drop-in clinics will welcome youngsters from Monday, with appointments to be sent out to all those in the age group the following week.
But Miss Sturgeon is facing pressure to send vaccinators into schools in a bid to speed up the programme ahead of the October holiday, which is just weeks away.
The UK’s four chief medical officers this week announced they would support vaccination of younger people following a JCVI decision not to recommend this.
They cited concerns over missed education and the wider threat of coronavirus during winter – and fears the NHS could face soaring demand with more than 1,000 people currently in hospital with the virus.
Boris Johnson has also confirmed he has accepted the JCVI recommendations, with booster jabs to form a key part of his winter plan to keep the country open through winter.
The Prime Minister revealed yesterday that third doses of the vaccine would be given to over 50s and clinically vulnerable people – with 30million people across the UK to receive another jab.
Mr Johnson’s ‘Plan A’ will also see 12 to 15-year-old’s invited for one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
However, he warned that if coronavirus cases continue to rise he will introduce vaccine passports, mandatory face coverings and working from home guidance in England – just months after ‘Freedom Day’ south of the Border.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said vaccinating those aged 12 to 15 and offering booster shots had the potential to be ‘gamechanging in halting the spread of Covid this winter’.
However, he said more answers are needed on how the schemes will be delivered, and has called for mobile vaccination units to visit every school to encourage uptake.
The Scottish Government has encouraged senior pupils to take lateral flow tests at home before attending secondary schools as part of plans to make classrooms safe.
However, at the start of this month, the Mail revealed that fewer than one in 20 senior pupils had taken a test since the start of the new term.
Figures showed only 4.9 per cent of pupils in S4-6 had taken lateral flow tests since schools returned from the summer holiday in August.
‘Game-changing in halting spread’