More than 10,000 Shetland folk fully vaccinated with both doses

More than 10,000 people in Shetland are fully vaccinated with both jabs.

NHS Shetland chief executive Michael Dickson announced the milestone during his Facebook broadcast on Wednesday evening.

Mr Dickson said it was “just fantastic”.

“The vaccination numbers are an enormous success,” he said.

“It’s not a success for NHS Shetland, that’s not why I’m taking about it, it’s a success for us as a community.

“Because the vaccine means we can go back to doing the things we did be before, we can meet friends, we can meet relatives.

“These are the things we miss so much and if we want to get back to them the vaccine is the best way to do it.”

The latest figures show that almost 99 per cent of over-50s have had their first jab; while 83 per cent have received both.

Of the entire adult population, 90 per cent have received one jab and 56 per cent have had their second.

Mr Dickson said Shetland’s vaccination team had tried to contact every eligible person for the vaccine – and asked anyone who had not received a call to get in touch.

The team is also aiming to contact people about their second doses within eight or nine weeks of their first.

Compared to the mainland, Mr Dickson said Shetland’s progress had been slightly faster, some of which was due to its smaller population size.

He also said that as an isolated community with a more vulnerable health system it was all the more important to protect the island through vaccinations as the isles began to open up again.

Mr Dickson said the progress with the vaccination nationally had brought a stark reduction in the number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths in recent weeks.

But with concerns over the so-called Indian variant still looming, Mr Dickson also warned there was a risk the virus was growing again.

He said the new variant had led to a significant rise in cases, particularly in Glasgow, though thankfully it had not been accompanied by as many hospitalisations.