All over 80s to be vaccinated within next four weeks

Pharmacy technician Zandra Williamson with the new vaccine. Photo: NHS Shetland. 

Everyone aged over 80 is set to be vaccinated within the next four weeks, the First Minister has confirmed.

Nicola Sturgeon said today (Thursday) that the vaccination of over 80s was underway and everyone eligible would be contacted as soon as possible.

Ms Sturgeon also said Scotland was “well over half way” of vaccinating care home residents.

The news follows the confirmation that Shetland has received its first 200-dose delivery of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine yesterday.

NHS Shetland said previously it hopes to have vaccinated 2,000 people by the end of the month.

Ms Sturgeon said the vaccination programme had already started to protect a significant proportion of those  most vulnerable to the virus

“Vaccination ultimately is what will provide us with a route out of this pandemic, so we are absolutely determined to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated just as quickly as it is possible to do so,” she added.