Tayside and Fife’s vaccination programme is keeping a lid on Covid-19 hospital admissions and deaths despite record positive cases, say public health chiefs.
One person has died after catching coronavirus in Dundee, with three Covid-related deaths reported overall in Scotland on Wednesday.
Fewer people are dying or being admitted to hospital with Covid in Scotland, despite Scotland having more positive cases now than the peak of lockdown in January.
This comes as Nicola Sturgeon addressed the country on Tuesday, in a briefing when she said Scotland is now in a race between the virus and the vaccines.
On January 9, just a month after the vaccine roll-out began in Scotland, 93 people with coronavirus died in just one day, with 1,865 new positive cases recorded on the same day.
On Wednesday – with at least one vaccine now given to most adults in Scotland – 3,887 new positive cases were recorded but there were only three coronavirus-related deaths.
Nicola Sturgeon said in Tuesday’s briefing that the government is confident the vaccine will ultimately win the race.
The First Minister asked: “The question is what happens between now and then?”
She added: “The problem that we’ve got just now is that the virus is running faster than it has ever done before.
“The delta variant that we are dealing with just now accounts for the overwhelming bulk of all new cases right now.
“It is significantly more transmissible than previous variants and is helping to drive the steep rise in cases that we’ve been seeing in recent days.
“On the other hand, the positive part, we know the vaccines are breaking the link between cases and serious illness. The nature of this wave of the virus is different both in nature but is also in impact than previous ways.”
On Wednesday, Dundee was still the worst affected city in Scotland with 779.5 Covid cases per 100,000 people.
There were 21 people in hospital in Tayside, with 233 new cases in Dundee on Wednesday, in comparison to 189 on Monday.
Angus had 76 new cases in Angus and there were 124 in Perth and Kinross, with no new death reported in either area.
Director of public health for NHS Tayside, Dr Emma Fletcher, said that earlier in the year, there were almost 200 people in hospital with Covid-19.
She said: “We are seeing that the current rates for Tayside and Dundee are running just as high as the peak we experienced earlier this year where we had nearly 200 people in hospital with Covid-19.
“The big difference between now and January is that today there are 21 patients in our Covid-19 wards and critical care units and that is down to the impact of the vaccination programme.
“Twenty-one patients is still a high number and one which we want to see reduced but the success of the vaccination clinics, which have now delivered more than half a million doses to people in Tayside, is making a difference and that is what is keeping people with Covid from needing our hospital care.”
In Fife, 103 new cases of Covid were reported on Wednesday compared to 115 on Monday.
On Wednesday, Fife had 376.4 positive cases per 100,000, with no new deaths reported.
NHS Fife director of public health, Dr Joy Tomlinson, said the vaccine roll out in Fife is increasing the number of people protected from the virus.
She said: “Almost 260,000 people in Fife have now received at least one dose of vaccine against Covid-19 and almost 190,000 people have received two doses.
“This is really encouraging as it means that there is an increasing level of protection amongst the population against the virus and its effects.
“Vaccination is helping to reduce the risk of serious illness from Covid-19, and we are seeing fewer people admitted to hospital than during the winter months when rates of infection were high.
Dr Tomlinson said that the increase of those with positive Covid tests appear to be younger people who have not yet been fully vaccinated.
She said: “It’s really important to remember the virus is still circulating and we’ve seen a considerable rise in cases across Fife in recent weeks, mostly among people who are not vaccinated or have only received one dose of vaccine.
“We are watching closely to see if there will be any impact on the healthcare system and our hospitals.
“We still need local people to follow the existing public health guidance in place – this means avoiding crowded places, wearing face coverings and self-isolating if you develop any of the established symptoms of Covid-19.”
Coronavirus in Scotland – track the spread in these charts and maps