NHS Highland vaccination programme progressing well

One third of NHS Highland’s over-18 population has now had their first vaccinations against Covid-19.

The health authority says the vaccination programme is progressing well, with 87,698 having been given their first vaccination as of February 15, covering 33 per cent of people aged 18-and-above living in the Highlands and Argyll and Bute.

First dose vaccinations in care homes were completed ahead of schedule and it is planned that all care home residents will be offered their second vaccination by the end of March.

More than 95 per cent of over80s and over-75s have received their first vaccine, while nearly 85 per cent of over-70s have also received theirs and over-65s have now started to be invited to receive their first vaccine with the hope this group will be completed by the end of this month.

Pam Dudek, chief executive of NHS Highland, above, said: ‘The work being carried out by GP colleagues to vaccinate the general population is extraordinary with additional clinics being held in the evenings and at weekends to ensure the programme continues to meet targets. We have our local teams vaccinating colleagues across health and social care with help from the Scottish Ambulance Service and their mobile unit. There are also a number of teams working behind the scenes teams who are doing everything they can to support the roll out of the programme.

‘Thanks must also go to our partners across the NHS Highland area including The Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council which have provided support in various ways to keep the programme on track.’

Chairman of NHS Highland, Professor Boyd Robertson, said: ‘This is a massive undertaking and the challenge really cannot be overstated. It is thanks to the unstinting efforts of everyone involved throughout NHS Highland that we have been able to deliver the amount of vaccine we have across our vast territory stretching from Wick and Thurso in the north to Campbeltown and Helensburgh in the south and from Tiree in the west to Nairn in the east.’

He added: ‘It’s been humbling to hear of all the ways that teams across the NHS Highland area are pulling together to ensure the vaccination programme is a success. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to everyone involved. I would also like to thank members of the public who have been coming forward in their thousands to take up the offer of the vaccination. This has been a very challenging time for us all but it is vital that we remain focused on rolling out the vaccination programme and, hopefully, restoring a semblance of normal life beyond the pandemic.’