The Scottish Government has been asked to speed up the vaccine rollout in Scotland after figures show it lagging the rest of the United Kingdom.
Figures released on 1st February show the Scottish Government is failing to keep up with other UK nations per head of population:
England 14.36% of the population had received first dose
Wales 13.2%
Northern Ireland 11.71%
Scotland 10.54%
Figures also slumped to their lowest level since daily publication of the figures started, with only 9,628 receiving a vaccine on Sunday.
The Scottish Health Secretary had previously said that 1 million people would be vaccinated by the end of January. The actual figure was only 575,000.
The Scottish Government had previously said that they were prioritising care homes making their rollout slower. However, figures show Scotland and England have reached almost full rollout in care homes at the same time.
John Lamont MP said:
“GPs and NHS staff have been saying they need more support for weeks to help them rollout the vaccine as quickly as possible. They are doing a great job of getting vaccines into arms, but the Scottish Government needs to give them more support.
“Here in the Borders there has been an effective rollout when it comes to care homes and NHS staff, but the picture across Scotland paints a very different picture.
“If the Scottish Government doesn't get their house in order we will be even further behind the other nations of the UK.
“Hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses are available to the Scottish Government, ready for overnight delivery. All we need is the SNP to get their act together.”
“The vaccine rollout should be the primary focus of every government at the moment. Vaccines can and will save lives. Let’s support the NHS to deliver them as quickly as possible.”
Rachael Hamilton MSP said:
“NHS staff, volunteers and GPs have all been working hard to administer the vaccine, but the SNP Government in Edinburgh must offer more resources.
“Scotland continues to lag behind on vaccine rollout, yet when I asked the First Minister about unused supply, she was quick to dish out the excuses.
“I have called for a mass vaccination centre in the Borders, because we need to see the rollout move up a gear, if we are to lift restrictions, save jobs and protect businesses.
"This afternoon, the Secretary of State for Scotland wrote to Nicola Sturgeon to offer further help, saying that the UK Govt stands ready to offer support or assistance to accelerate the vaccine rollout.
"The Secretary of State for Defence also stands ready to offer more armed forces support should Nicola Sturgeon take up the assistance.
“The SNP have time to form an independence taskforce, yet they should be prioritising a vaccination taskforce to help Scotland get up to speed.
“Day after day, the public are really starting to tire of the ridiculous excuses of the SNP”.