Covid vaccinations begin at sites across Scotland

The coronavirus vaccine will begin its roll out in Scotland on Tuesday - with vaccinators themselves the first to receive the jabs.

An initial batch of 65,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine arrived in Scotland at the weekend.

They are being stored at 23 sites which will act as vaccination centres for priority groups.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the vaccination programme finally offered "light at the end of the tunnel".

During a visit to Edinburgh's Western General, one of the designated vaccination centres, on Monday, she said: "I'm grateful to everyone involved in giving this vaccine to those who need it most.

"By vaccinating the priority groups they will be covering those associated with 99% of preventable Covid-19 deaths.

"That is a very compelling reason to put these groups first in the queue for this vaccine."

However, she urged everyone to be patient and stick to the Covid rules as the vaccination programme was rolled out.

The decisions on who is vaccinated when are made by the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

It has advised that those delivering the vaccination programme should be immunised first, followed by frontline health and social care staff and care home residents.

Eventually the vaccine will be offered to all those over the age of 18 - a total of about 4.4 million people in Scotland.

Each person requires two doses of the vaccine, administered at least 21 days apart.

Each vaccination centre has an ultra-low temperature freezer which can store the vaccine at -70C until shortly before it is used.

The freezers will be based at all major acute hospitals across the country and on Scotland's islands.

The temperature that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine must be stored at has presented a logistical challenge in delivering it to care homes.

But after receiving more information about transporting the vaccine, the Scottish government has said this will now be possible.

Planning is under way for the vaccine to be delivered to care home residents from 14 December.

Those who receive the vaccine won't be protected immediately.

Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith said some level of protection was likely to develop about 12 days after the first dose.

But it will not offer full protection until about another week after the second injection is administered.

"That's why it's really important that people attend for both doses," he said during Monday's Scottish government briefing.

The vaccine offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, but researchers said they do not know yet whether the injection stops those who receive it from spreading the virus as well as preventing them from becoming ill.

The Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said military planners were working with the Scottish government and a number of Scottish health boards to make sure that the vaccine is rolled out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

He said: "The start of the vaccination programme in Scotland is great news. It gives us all hope that at some point our lives will get back to something like normal."