Vaccinations for 12-15 Year Olds and Fresh Programme of Booster Jags
Stirling MP Alyn Smith and MSP Evelyn Tweed have welcomed today’s announcement (Tuesday 14th Sept) by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon regarding Scotland’s fight against Covid-19.
Children and young people aged 12 -15 years old will be offered a dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination from Monday 20 September after Scottish Ministers accepted advice from the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs).
As a result, a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be offered to all children and young people aged 12-15 who are not already covered by existing advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in a move to reduce the disruption caused to education by COVID-19.
This group will be offered their injections in drop-in clinics and community settings followed by each young person receiving a letter inviting them to attend a community clinic.
For some rural Health Boards, those aged 12 to 15 will first be offered the vaccine at school.
Following the initial phase, vaccines will be offered in both communities and schools so that anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated but would like to be has the opportunity to take up the offer.
Meanwhile, people who received their vaccination during phase one of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme in Scotland will start to receive booster injections from 20 September.
This follows advice from the JCVI which has advised that the booster dose can be given alongside the flu jab and should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course.
Frontline health and social care workers will be able to book their appointment online at NHS Inform from 20 September and from that date, residents in care homes for older people will be offered both flu and COVID-19 booster vaccination.
Adults aged 70 years and over and adults aged 16 years and over who are on the highest risk list (previously known as the shielding list) will be contacted soon, either by letter or by their GP.
People on the highest risk list who were severely immunosuppressed at the time of their last COVID-19 vaccination will be offered a third primary dose instead. Other eligible groups – including all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions, adult carers, unpaid and young carers, adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals and all adults over 50 – will be able to book online from October.
Alyn Smith MP said:
‘Scotland’s vaccination rollout has been a great success so far, standing testament to the hard work and dedication of our health and social care staff as they strive to keep us safe. I’d urge parents, carers and young people to study carefully the official health information they will have access to from Public Health Scotland, and to remain wary of unverified information sources they may come across online. Public Health Scotland is a reliable source of scientific, verified information on Covid-19 and vaccinations.
‘The health and happiness of young people across Scotland remains a top priority for all public services during this pandemic, and this offer of vaccination has been made with the best medical information available.’
Evelyn Tweed MSP said:
‘As the Covid-19 pandemic has unfolded and changed over the past 18 months, so too has the approach from government and health authorities. I welcome today’s announcement of vaccinations for 12-15 year olds, as well as further clarity of Scotland’s vaccine booster programme as we head into the winter period. The strain on health systems across the UK remains severe, and we must all do our bit to keep as much pressure off our NHS as we can.
‘Informed consent must be at the heart of this stage, and I’m pleased to see the Scottish Government commit to clear communication between this age group, parents and carers so they understand the potential benefits, potential side effects and the balance between them.’
Notes:
Children aged 12-15 who have specific underlying conditions or disabilities are already covered by previous JCVI advice and will be offered two doses, eight weeks apart.
Further information is available from the First Minister’s statement to Parliament here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-update-first-ministers-statement-14-september-2021/
