Vaccine roll-out in Scotland starts on Tuesday next week, Nicola Sturgeon discloses

The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use in the UK - Reuters
The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use in the UK - Reuters
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The roll-out of the first coronavirus vaccine is to start in Scotland on Tuesday next week, Nicola Sturgeon has disclosed as she hailed the drug's approval as "the beginning of the end" of the pandemic.

She "warmly" welcomed the UK becoming the first country in the world to approve the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, saying it was "without a shadow of a doubt the best news that we have heard" since the crisis started.

The UK Government has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 20 million people, with about 10 million doses expected to be available for use shortly for priority groups, including healthcare workers.

About 800,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to be available in the UK next week, with a population share being made available for Scotland, enough to vaccinate around 40,000 people north of the Border.

The first jabs are expected to be administered in only six days' time, Ms Sturgeon said, although the recipients are not expected to gain immunity until the new year.

They will require a second dose three to four weeks later and the full protective effect does not kick in for a further seven days. Tests have shown the vaccine to be 95 per cent effective and that it works in all age groups.

Ms Sturgeon urged Scots to think again about taking "unnecessary risks with family at Christmas", given the vaccine is so close and the prospect of people meeting "much more normally in the spring of next year."

She also warned that the UK and Scottish governments now have the "biggest logistical peacetime challenge" they have ever faced to distribute the vaccine, which must normally be kept at between -70C and -80C.

Doses are to be transported in 23 ultra-low temperature freezers to new vaccination centres across Scotland for priority groups, including the over-80s and NHS staff.

The first to receive the drug in Scotland - and among the first in the world - will be health workers responsible for vaccinating others.

It is thought that big venues such as the Edinburgh International Conference Centre are being lined up as the type of venue that will be transformed into vaccine distribution "hubs".

But a particular problem yet to be resolved is how to transport the vaccine into care homes, with residents and staff also among the top priority group in the first wave of the roll-out.

Despite the distribution challenges, she confirmed the Scottish Government still hopes to vaccinate a million Scots by the end of January and all 4.4 million adults north of the border by Spring next year.

Ms Sturgeon and Gregor Smith, the interim chief medical officer, also attempted to assure Scots concerned at the speed the vaccine was developed that it was safe for everyone except pregnant women.

The First Minister said "no corners have been cut" in the safety tests conducted prior to its approval and she would be willing to emulate Matt Hancock, the UK Health Secretary, by being vaccinated on television.

There are no current plans to legislate to make the vaccine compulsory.

Instead she said high-profile figures like Sir Andy Murray could be drafted into a public health campaign to convince wavering Scots to get vaccinated.

But she rejected calls from Labour to appoint a dedicated Vaccines Minister to oversee the roll-out, as the UK Government has done, following a "poorly managed" seasonal flu vaccination programme this year.

Ms Sturgeon's welcome for the Pfizer vaccine's approval came after Matt Hancock, the UK Government's Health Secretary, confirmed it would be distributed across the four nations.

Mr Hancock added: "This is a UK project, a UK purchase of this vaccine approved by the UK regulator for everyone in the UK."

He told the Commons all four nations had committed to start at the same time next week and "this UK purchased vaccine, being delivered by NHS Scotland, is a really good example of the power of this country when we all work together."

Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, said British Army planners had been working with the Scottish Government and several health boards to roll it out as quickly as possible.

Speaking at her daily Covid briefing, Ms Sturgeon said: "Today is genuinely a good day. We’re not at the end of this pandemic yet and of course we cannot and must not ease up in our efforts to control it, but today feels like it may well be the beginning of the end of this horrible experience.

“For that reason I am sure I am far from the only one this morning who felt a lightness of heart that I haven’t felt in quite some time.”

The First Minister said the "light at the end of the tunnel seems a lot brighter today" and warned there would still be "dips in the road" over the winter months.

She urged Scots to use the vaccine as a "motivation to keep at it for these final few months" rather than relaxing their behaviour, noting that the virus was "still dangerous". A further 951 cases and 38 deaths were announced yesterday.

Although rules are to be eased for five days over Christmas, she said: "Now that we have that vaccine firmly in view, I would encourage everyone to think very carefully about whether you want to take any unnecessary risks with family."

Her plea came after the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland warned doctors have "significant concerns" over relaxing the rules over the festive period.

In a statement, they said: "Multiple people mixing indoors for prolonged periods of time will lead to an increase in cases. This means more people becoming unwell, being admitted to hospital and, probably, more deaths."