Over-80s 'will be given coronavirus vaccine by February'

Everyone aged 80 or over will be given the coronavirus vaccine by February, the health secretary has said.

Speaking as the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was rolled out in more than 1000 locations across Scotland, Jeane Freeman also said all frontline healthcare staff would be vaccinated by the end of January.

The total number of people vaccinated by the end of the month will be just under 560,000, she said.

At her daily coronavirus briefing, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that as of Sunday, a total of 163,377 people in Scotland had received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine.

Freeman told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme: “We intend that by the end of this month, the very beginning of February, we will have vaccinated all residents in care homes and staff, all frontline health and social care workers and all those aged 80 or over.

“So that’s just under 560,000. We’ve already vaccinated about 70% of people in care homes and about half of the health and social care workforce.”

She said the Scottish Government was on course to match the UK Government’s commitment to offer a vaccine jab to everyone in the top four priority groups by the middle of February.

The health service will be able to vaccinate people as supplies of the jabs arrive, she said, with over-80s being contacted by their GPs.

A further update on Scotland’s vaccination numbers is expected later on Monday, and Freeman said there would be daily updates beyond this point.

In addition, there will be a weekly breakdown showing the different groups which had been vaccinated each Wednesday, she said.

The health secretary said those under 50 who do not have underlying health conditions could expect vaccinations to start in the spring.