Chief Medical Officer to look into young 'healthy' people being offered vaccine
We've spoken to a 23-year-old man from Dundonald with no underlying health conditions who was shocked to receive his invitation
Last updated 19th Feb 2021
The Chief Medical Officer is promising to look into why seemingly healthy young people are being offered coronavirus vaccines.
Some social media reports suggest people in Greater Glasgow and Clyde are concerned they've received invitations before older generations.
West FM News has since spoken to a 23-year-old man from Dundonald with no underlying health conditions who was shocked to receive his invitation.
Ewan Paton told us: "I was very surprised because I didn't really have any idea why I would have this letter at this stage.
"I would personally rather people that are more in need of the vaccine would get it before me."
Ewan added that he's not alone: "I'm certainly not the only one in this position, having had a look on social media, but I don't really know what problems it would cause by not taking it right now."
When questioned at the daily briefing Dr Gregor Smith told our sister station Clyde News he wasn't aware it was happening.
The Chief Medical Officer said: "The way that we would want the vaccination programme to run just now is to make sure that we're prioritising the vaccine to those who will benefit most from it.
"There will be some younger patients that will now be called but generally that's because of their underlying health state.
"If these people don't understand why they've been called for vaccination - then I would certainly want to explore why that's the case."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:
“We are aware of a small number of younger people reporting that they have received an appointment letter despite them not having any underlying health conditions and we are actively looking at what may have caused this so we can remedy any problem that exists.
“Anyone who feels they have received an appointment in error should phone the national booking helpline on 0800 030 8013.”
"We are using a modified version of the flu vaccine list, drawn from information held by health boards, to identify people with underlying conditions for vaccination as part of JCVI group 6.
"Our top priority is to vaccinate as many people as we can as quickly as possible, starting with those at the highest clinical risk."
In a statement NHS Ayrshire and Arran told us: "Delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination across Ayrshire and Arran is aligned to the prioritisation schedule outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), and communicated by the Scottish Government.
Invitations are being sent out to those that fall under the JCVI “at-risk” category. Although there is some overlap with the JCVI “at-risk” criteria for the COVID-19 vaccination and the flu vaccination programmes there are also some major differences between them.
We have received enquiries from individuals who felt they had been sent an invitation in error and have investigated each of these cases. We have been able to clarify that those individuals in receipt of an invitation do meet the JCVI “at-risk” criteria.
Planning is well underway for further cohorts of patients to receive their vaccinations beyond February. Details on future mass vaccination clinics will be published in due course."