Scottish coronavirus vaccinators praised for "enormous efforts"

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has hailed the "enormous efforts'' of coronavirus vaccinators as the number of Scots to have been given their first injection passed three quarters of a million.

Figures published by the Scottish Government showed that by Saturday morning, 786,427 people had now had their first jab - with 10,332 having received both doses of the vaccine.

The figures were revealed as it was announced there had been a further 48 deaths among those who had tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days - taking the total number of deaths under this measurement to 6,431.

In addition, a further 895 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours - 5.9% of all those tested.

That meant the test positivity rate had increased to above 5% again - with this being one of the key indicators of whether a virus is under control.

After Scotland's rate fell below the crucial point on Wednesday - the first time this had happened for more than a month - First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said at the time the drop was "undoubtedly a small ray of sunshine''.

As well as a slight increase in test positivity, the latest figures also showed the number of vaccinations given was down from Thursday's record high.

In the 24 hours to 8.30am on Friday, a total of 48,165 first doses were administered to patients - the largest number given in a single day in Scotland.

Saturday's figures then showed the total number of people who have had their first jab had increased by 43,915.

However, Ms Freeman stressed that the vaccine programme was "delivering ahead of our expectations''.

Ministers had expected an uptake of the vaccine of "at least 80%'' when they drew up their plans, she said.

According to the Scottish Government, 99% of older people living in care homes have now received a first dose, along with 89% of staff.

In total, 272,365 frontline health and social care workers have been given at least one dose of the vaccine, exceeding the initial target of 230,000 staff.

And 93% of those aged over 80 living in the community have also had their first vaccination.

The Scottish Government said the number of vaccinations carried out in the last week was 49% higher than the previous seven days, after the opening up of new mass vaccination centres, including the ones at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and at Aberdeen's P&J Live arena.

Ms Freeman said: "Scotland's Covid-19 vaccination programme is now delivering ahead of our expectations, thanks to the enormous efforts of our vaccination teams.''

She added: "I would like to thank everyone who is working tirelessly to make this a success, and also every individual who has taken up their offer of a vaccine.

"Our aim is to vaccinate as many people as possible with both their first and second doses.

"The vaccine deployment plan was predicated on an uptake of at least 80% in each cohort - though so far we are significantly exceeding that for care home residents and staff, frontline healthcare staff, and over 80-year-olds in the community.''

Ms Freeman said anyone aged over 80 who had not yet been invited for vaccination should contact their GP.

The latest figures also showed a total of 1,729 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19 - a decrease of 65 from the previous day.

And the number of intensive care patients had fallen by six in the last 24 hours to stand at 117.

The Health Secretary said: "We hope to see a significant drop in the disease due to the vaccination programme, however this will take a number of months to evaluate fully.

"In the shorter term, we are monitoring the uptake rate but we also have a comprehensive surveillance system in place to monitor outcome of vaccine efficacy and disease reduction.''

Ms Freeman continued: "Each health board is working hard to get the vaccine into people's arms as quickly as possible, and everyone eligible will be offered the vaccine as we work our way through the priority groups.''

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