NHS Lothian apologises for 'admin error' in children’s Covid vaccine letters

NHS Lothian has issued an apology after parents and carers of healthy children were sent Covid vaccine invites saying their youngsters had an underlying health condition.

An “admin error” was blamed for the mistake, which affected some families in West Lothian and Midlothian.

It comes as the Covid-19 vaccination programme has been extended to cover youngsters aged between five and 11 across Scotland.

The health board said parents and carers should still bring their children forward for their jab, even if they received the wrong letter.

Katie Dee, deputy director of public health at NHS Lothian, said: “We are really sorry for this admin error and are writing to the affected parents to apologise for the confusion it may cause some parents.

“We use two letter templates in Lothian to invite children – one for children who have underlying health conditions and one for children who do not.

“It appears that the wrong version may have been used when offering some appointments to children in Midlothian and West Lothian.”

Ms Dee stressed that the appointment times in the letters were still valid.

She stated: “Parents don’t have to do anything at all.

“All of the appointment information remains the same and they should turn up for the appointment that has been reserved for them.

“The numbers of people testing positive for infection have increased rapidly across Scotland and vaccination is one of the best ways to protect ourselves and our children against the virus.”