Vaccination programme ‘is slowing’ but travel could encourage uptake
Scotland's national clinical director conceded yesterday that the vaccination programme is "slowing a little bit".
Professor Jason Leitch said he hopes changes to travel regulations, which mean those who have been fully vaccinated no longer need to isolate after returning home from amber-list countries, could encourage more people to be inoculated.
The number of vaccinations reached a three-month low earlier this week, with 17,749 injections – including 7,163 first doses – administered on Monday.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme,
Prof Leith said: "If travel is an incentive for you, here's another reason, if you needed another reason other than the illness, to get yourself vaccinated."
He urged people to "please, please, please get yourself vaccinated".
The latest figures from Public Health Scotland show that in the four weeks between June 12 and July 9, almost two-thirds (64.7 per cent) of confirmed coronavirus cases were among the unvaccinated.
Just over half (51.6 per cent) of Covid-19 hospital admissions for the same four-week period involved unvaccinated individuals, with 70.6 per cent of this group aged under 40.
Prof Leitch added: "That number, that first dose number, is slowing a little bit. We expected it to at this age, and we've done actually quite a lot of them. The more stubborn ones, maybe a little bit hesitant, maybe busy in jobs in whatever else they're doing, we really, really need them to come."