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| Covid in Scotland: Boosters for over 50s and jabs for young teens begin | Covid in Scotland: Boosters for over 50s and jabs for young teens begin |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Children aged 12 to 15 are now able to get a Covid vaccine in Scotland and a programme offering boosters to the most vulnerable is also beginning. | Children aged 12 to 15 are now able to get a Covid vaccine in Scotland and a programme offering boosters to the most vulnerable is also beginning. |
| The jabs for young teenagers will initially be available at drop-in centres before becoming available in schools. | The jabs for young teenagers will initially be available at drop-in centres before becoming available in schools. |
| A booster shot of vaccine will be offered to vulnerable groups including all adults over 50. | |
| Older care home residents will be the first to be offered the booster. | Older care home residents will be the first to be offered the booster. |
| Scotland to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds from Monday | Scotland to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds from Monday |
| Will children's Covid jabs be compulsory? | Will children's Covid jabs be compulsory? |
| Vaccinating children - how the UK compares | Vaccinating children - how the UK compares |
| Letters will be sent to everyone in the 12 to 15-year-old age group next week, inviting them to an appointment for a jab. | |
| Drop-in clinics in Forth Valley, Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside and Lanarkshire are now able to accept youngsters in this age group, with the remaining health boards expected to begin later in the week, once staff training in getting informed consent from 12 to 15-year-olds is complete. | |
| There will also be a vaccination programme in schools after the scheduled appointments. This will allow those not yet vaccinated a further opportunity to get one. | There will also be a vaccination programme in schools after the scheduled appointments. This will allow those not yet vaccinated a further opportunity to get one. |
| In some rural areas, the vaccine will first be offered at school. | |
| 'Avoiding educational disruption' | |
| Health Secretary Humza Yousaf told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that the government had prioritised community drop-ins over school vaccination programmes. | |
| "We recognised that switching our drop-ins to 12 to 15-year-olds, with 12 to 15-year-olds being accompanied by an adult who can give verbal consent, is the quickest way to do this," he said. | |
| "The more people we have, the greater the uptake amongst that population level, the better the outcomes in terms of avoiding educational disruption and, of course, for health reasons, not just for the individuals involved but for society as a whole." | |
| It comes after the chief medical officers of each of the four UK nations concluded that the additional benefits were sufficient to justify vaccination of children over the age of 12. | It comes after the chief medical officers of each of the four UK nations concluded that the additional benefits were sufficient to justify vaccination of children over the age of 12. |
| They said it would help to reduce disruption to their schooling this winter and benefit those growing up in the poorest areas. | They said it would help to reduce disruption to their schooling this winter and benefit those growing up in the poorest areas. |
| The chief medical officers said the vaccine programme will help reduce disruption in schools | The chief medical officers said the vaccine programme will help reduce disruption in schools |
| All children aged 12 to 15 who are not already eligible will be offered a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine. | |
| Those who have specific underlying conditions or disabilities are already covered by previous Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice and will be offered two doses, eight weeks apart. | Those who have specific underlying conditions or disabilities are already covered by previous Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice and will be offered two doses, eight weeks apart. |
| Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, said it was "a strong rights-based decision" to give children the choice to get the vaccine. | Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, said it was "a strong rights-based decision" to give children the choice to get the vaccine. |
| He told BBC Scotland that children and young people had "borne the brunt" of the pandemic. | He told BBC Scotland that children and young people had "borne the brunt" of the pandemic. |
| "They have played such an important role in protecting the public health of all of us, even though they're least likely to be affected. | "They have played such an important role in protecting the public health of all of us, even though they're least likely to be affected. |
| "It should be a child's individual choice to take the vaccine - it needs to be an informed choice, based on how they feel and their understanding. There shouldn't be any pressure to take vaccination." | "It should be a child's individual choice to take the vaccine - it needs to be an informed choice, based on how they feel and their understanding. There shouldn't be any pressure to take vaccination." |
| He said he was looking forward to taking his 12-year-old stepdaughter to get her vaccine. | |
| Booster programme | Booster programme |
| A booster dose programme is also beginning, with a booster shot of vaccine being offered to all adults over 50, frontline health and care workers, younger adults with health conditions that put them at higher risk, and adult household contacts of people with suppressed immune systems. | |
| The JCVI advisory group said the move was needed amid concern about waning immunity ahead of winter. | The JCVI advisory group said the move was needed amid concern about waning immunity ahead of winter. |
| Residents in care homes for older people will be offered both flu and Covid booster vaccines. | Residents in care homes for older people will be offered both flu and Covid booster vaccines. |
| And adults aged 70 years or over, and everyone aged over 16 on the highest risk list, will be contacted from the end of September either by letter or by their GP. | And adults aged 70 years or over, and everyone aged over 16 on the highest risk list, will be contacted from the end of September either by letter or by their GP. |
| Other eligible groups - all adults over 50, all those aged 16 to 49 with underlying health conditions, adult carers, unpaid and young carers, and adult household contacts of people who are immunosuppressed - will be able to book online from October. | Other eligible groups - all adults over 50, all those aged 16 to 49 with underlying health conditions, adult carers, unpaid and young carers, and adult household contacts of people who are immunosuppressed - will be able to book online from October. |
| The booster dose can be given alongside the flu jab and should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course. | The booster dose can be given alongside the flu jab and should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course. |
| Mr Yousaf said the booster programme would offer "longer lasting protection against severe Covid-19 illness". | |
| He added: "The booster programme will run alongside our biggest ever flu vaccine programme as both of these programmes are important for individual and for public health and wherever possible, those eligible will be offered Covid-19 booster and flu vaccines together. | |
| 'Vaccinate the world' | |
| Former prime minister Gordon Brown, the WHO ambassador for global health financing, said he believed the entire world could be vaccinated by next summer, if developed nations helped in the rollout elsewhere. | |
| He said: "You can do the boosters in the UK, Europe and America, you can vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds, you can retain some supplies in case of other emergencies, and still vaccinate the rest of the world." | |
| He said there would be 500 million vaccines lying unused in rich nations by the end of next month and a billion by Christmas because of over ordering, and it would be "utterly unconscionable" to let those doses pass their use-by date when only 2% of Africa had been vaccinated. | |
| Speaking on Good Morning Scotland, he said: "I believe that the whole world, all those adults who want a vaccination and we can get the vaccination to, can be vaccinated by next summer." | |
| He said: "I believe that the plan that President Biden and others should agree, is that by December we get 40% of the world vaccinated, that's of the poorest countries, then by next spring we are up to 70%. | |
| "That's the figure that people have settled on for the rest of the world - that's on top, of course, of the rich countries, our countries, already having 70% or more fully vaccinated at the moment." | |
| RULES: What are the restrictions in your area? | RULES: What are the restrictions in your area? |
| EASING: What are the current rules? | EASING: What are the current rules? |
| CASES: Where are the latest cases in Scotland? | CASES: Where are the latest cases in Scotland? |
| WHO? The people who have died with Covid-19 | WHO? The people who have died with Covid-19 |