Medical chief urges uptake of winter Covid and flu vaccines

Scotland’s chief medical officer has called on people not to delay getting a Covid-19 booster jab as he warned cases will rise again in the coming months.

Professor Sir Gregor Smith’s plea comes after records show a recent rise in the number of Covid-19 infections in Scotland.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said an estimated one in 35 people in Scotland had Covid-19 in the week up to October 10.

Equivalent to about 144,400 people, the figure is a rise from one in 50 people in the week up to September 29 – the most recent previous statistic.

Addressing those who are eligible for the vaccines on Twitter, Professor Smith said: “Please don’t put off getting your flu and Covid-19 vaccines – as we get deeper into Autumn/Winter I expect cases to rise further.

“Newer vaccines for both will update your level of protection and reduce likelihood of severe disease, even from newer variants.”

His announcement was made as over-50s in Scotland, who have no underlying health conditions, will start being called to book a winter vaccine from Monday.

Those aged between 50 and 64 are being encouraged to get the jab to protect against Covid-19 and flu, and to help ease pressure on the NHS over the winter months.

Appointments can be made on the NHS Inform website from Monday.

These can also be rescheduled online – with a national helpline available for those without internet access.

Earlier in the week, Public Health Minister Maree Todd also pushed for everyone who is eligible to take up the offer of their winter vaccines.

She said uptake has been “encouraging” so far, and that people who are vaccinated are “less likely to become seriously unwell from Covid-19 or flu”.

More than two million Scots are being offered both vaccines during the course of the winter vaccine programme, which launched at the end of August.

So far, 1,741,484 Covid-19 and flu vaccines have been delivered.

Both new bivalent vaccines, which target Omicron and the original variant of Covid-19, are being deployed alongside existing vaccines, though the vaccination individuals receive will depend on age and vaccine availability.