Vaccinations for care home residents almost complete, Sturgeon says

Almost all care home residents have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The First Minister revealed that 264,991 people have so far been vaccinated in Scotland, adding that everyone over the age of 65 should have received the jab by the beginning of March.

Speaking at her daily briefing, she said having first focused on care home residents, Scotland was seeking to “rapidly expand” its vaccination programme.

“Thousands of vaccinations are now taking place each day at the NHS Louisa Jordan in Glasgow and work is ongoing to establish further major vaccination sites,” she said.

She thanked the Army for the logistical support it is providing, as she said Scotland was “on track” to complete first dose vaccinations for those in the two highest priority groups by the start of February.

“That includes care home residents – which I’m pleased to say are almost complete already – health and care staff and everybody who is aged over 80,” she said.

Ms Sturgeon added that by the middle of February they hoped to have completed first doses for those aged over 70 and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable – saying people in these groups would receive appointments later in January.

In addition, it was hoped everyone aged over 65 will have had their first dose of the vaccine by the beginning of March.

But she added: “All of this is subject to getting the supplies we need.”

A total of 1,429 positive coronavirus tests have been recorded in the past 24 hours, the latest figures show.

But no deaths have been recorded, meaning the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – stands at 5,305.

Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Cabinet would review the current coronavirus restrictions when it meets on Tuesday, with the First Minister then giving a statement to Holyrood later in the day.

“We will look at the latest data and come to a view on where we are and whether we need to extend the lockdown restrictions to further suppress the virus,” she said.

She said the Scottish Government was also considering whether hotels could be used for people coming to the country from outside the UK who are required to self-isolate on arrival.

The First Minister also said £5 million of Scottish Government cash was being used to establish an NHS medicines delivery service.

This will be available to about 1.5 million people, including those who had been shielding previously.

It will be operating by the end of this month, and available until “at least” the end of March – although this date will be kept under review.

And she announced an additional £750,000 was being made available to help those who provide care for a loved one.