Covid in Scotland: Over 70s to receive vaccine date in blue envelopes

Letters containing details of vaccine appointments for those aged 70 to 79 will begin arriving from Monday.

Blue envelopes containing appointments for first doses will drop through letterboxes as the vaccine programme moves through priority groups.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman urged people to look out for the "very distinctive" envelopes, which are being given priority by Royal Mail.

It is part of new booking system being used in six health board areas.

The envelopes are being sent out in Fife, Forth Valley, Ayrshire and Arran, Lanarkshire, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Lothian.

The new booking system schedules appointments for patients in order of priority and more boards are expected to make use of the technology as the vaccination programme expands.

The Scottish government has faced criticism from opposition parties concerned that Scotland is "lagging behind" England on the vaccination roll-out, and many people aged over 80 have yet to receive their first dose.

The older group should not expect to receive an appointment in a blue envelope.

Official data shows 13% of that age bracket had the vaccine by last Sunday but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday that the figure had risen to 34%.

The government wants all over 80s to have their first dose by 5 February and it says it is on track to meet the target.

Ms Freeman said: "We all know how easy it is to ignore some of the mail which comes through our letterboxes but these blue envelopes will be very distinctive and they will contain details of your vaccine appointment so please open them.

"The letters are being posted first class and we have been advised by the Royal Mail that the colour will allow them to prioritise delivery.

"The blue envelopes will contain information about the time and place of your appointment and details on how to reschedule it if you are unable to attend."

Ms Freeman urged everyone to take up their appointment when they are offered one.

She added that the vaccination programme was one of three key ways to beat the virus, along with the expanded testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission, and the lockdown restrictions.

"All these measures work to greatest effect when they work together," she added.

The Scottish government has faced criticism over the pace of the vaccine rollout, amid claims from the Scottish Conservatives that doses are sitting in "depots and collection points" rather than being injected into people's arms.

They say vaccines are not being supplied to GPs' surgeries fast enough.

And they point to the latest official figures which show that 13% of over 80s in Scotland had their first dose by last Sunday, while 56.3% of same age group had been vaccinated in England.

But Nicola Sturgeon says the over 80s roll-out has been slower because it has "very deliberately" concentrated on vaccinating care home residents first, which is "more time consuming and labour intensive".

She told parliament on Wednesday that this was designed to target the most vulnerable and was in line with the priority list compiled by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises on vaccine rollout across the UK.

About 95% of care home residents have received their first dose, Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish government briefing on Friday.

In England 63% of care home residents have been vaccinated, according to health secretary Matt Hancock.

Ms Sturgeon has said Scotland's rate of vaccinations was speeding up considerably.