Freeman says jabs will start next month
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman is “confident” that Scotland’s Covid- 19 vaccination programme can begin next month – and she expects “a big response” from the public.
Ms Freeman said the Scottish Government is ready to roll out its vaccination programme f rom December and the vaccine will ultimately be available to everyone aged over 18 in Scotland, around 4.45 million people.
She said the Pfizer vaccine is most likely to be the first of the vaccines to be approved.
As ke d o n B B C R a d i o' s Good Morning S c ot l and show how confident she is that the va ccination programme can definitely begin next month, Ms Freeman replied: “I’m as confident as I can be, assuming that the vaccine does arrive, that it is approved, what we have done is we have planned on the basis that the vaccine will be with us in December.
“That means that we are ready as soon as it arrives and if it is approved and the
doses arrive the first week in December then we are ready.
“I f t he approval bodies need any more evidence from Pfizer and that means i t t akes a wee bit l onger, then we will still be ready when the approval comes through.”
Asked what percentage of the population would need to be vaccinated, she said: “There is not an exact number we’ve been given by our scientists or clinical advisers.
“The intention is to vaccinate as many people as we can. I think we will get a big response from people in Scotland.”