• Care home residents in Scotland will be able to receive the Covid vaccine from 14 December
• The first batches of the vaccine, which arrive in Scotland on Tuesday, will be given to health staff and vaccinators
• People in Scotland will start to receive a Covid-19 vaccine from next week
• The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland says every health board in the country has access to the freezers needed for the Pfizer coronvirus vaccine

• The education secretary confirms there will be no extension to Scotland's school Christmas holidays

• John Swinney also says there will be a staggered return of students to Scotland's university and college campuses in January. Covid-19 testing will also be in place
• The first minister earlier said the "buck stops with me" in terms of the responsibility for the vaccination programme
• Regulations to legally prevent eviction notices over Christmas are to be introduced
• A further 51 deaths with Covid have been registered in the last 24 hours
• The first minister says the R number continues to be shown to be just below one

That's all from us here on the live page. Please take care and stay safe.

Image source, Getty Images

Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour MSP for Central Scotland, asks whether all care home residents will be vaccinated during the first stage.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says they will initially have to hold back half of the doses of vaccine in the first delivery so those vaccinated can receive their second dose.

The government will then be able to confirm how many people will be vaccinated in the first round when they know how large their second delivery is and when it is arriving.

Advice is being sought on how to prioritise care homes in the meantime.

Responding to a question from Ms Lennon on information for the public, Ms Freeman says there will be a phoneline offering information during the first phase of vaccination, and later allowing people to book their vaccination slot.

Leaflets giving advice on vaccination will also be delivered to homes.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Cameron, Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, asks the health secretary for a list of vaccine venues and how many freezers have been supplied to each health board.

Ms Freeman says a full list of vaccination venues will be published as soon as it is confirmed, which will be before Holyrood's Christmas recess.

She says the 23 freezers allocated for storing the Pfizer vaccine at ultra-low temperatures are already in place in the health board areas, but the UK's national security services are "unsure about the wisdom" of going public with where the storage of the “very precious” vaccine is located.

She adds that it is now known that vulnerable people can be vaccinated in their care homes, and possibly even their own homes.

Image source, Reuters

Ms Freeman insists: "In the MHRA authorising the vaccine for supply, no corners have been cut. The process has been as rigorous and robust as it always is."

She says a significant part of the information provided will be on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

This is a significant logistical challenge, concedes the health secretary, but she says it will be undertaken with "optimism and determination to succeed".

The health secretary says work is under way to ensure the vaccine is given in locations that are as accessible and local as possible.

Ms Freeman says we should be able to vaccinate the first phase by Spring of next year.

The rest of the adult population will follow as quick as possible thereafter, she says.

Two thousand staff will be recruited by the end of January, she says, including from GPs, pharmacists and optometrists.

From Tuesday, 160 vaccinators are needed "and we have them", she adds.

Ms Freeman will oversee this fast-paced exercise with a representative from Cosla.

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick will be in charge of updating MSPs on the vaccination programme and will respond to any local issues raised by members.

Ms Freeman says the guidance prioritises those at the highest risk of clinical harm from Covid.

She says the only exceptions are NHS and social care workers and the aim is to prevent almost 99% of Covid deaths.

The health secretary says over lunchtime today there is now confirmation that the Pfizer vaccine can be transported in an unfrozen state for 12 hours and be undiluted for up to five days.

This means the vaccine can be used for care homes and taken to older patients, with the programme beginning on 14 December.

From Tuesday 8 December, the vaccinators will get the vaccine, she says.

The doses will be stored in the 23 commercial freezers purchased by the Scottish government, which are located across the country.

"We are ready to implement the national plan I set out two weeks ago."

The health secretary says women who are pregnant or planning to be pregnant in the next three months should not take the Pfizer vaccine.

Ms Freeman says there will be a patient's leaflet to ensure informed consent.

She says work has been ongoing into adopting a four-nation UK approach.

The health secretary details some of the work that will be undertaken between now and Tuesday.

She says the first training will begin tomorrow, with the advice from the MHRA and JCVI.

Ms Freeman says the priority recommendations of the JCVI will be followed.

Image source, Getty Images

Ms Freeman explains the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has asked for 16 and 17-year-olds with underlying health conditions to be vaccinated.

The health secretary pledges to do this.

She says 50% of the supply of vaccines due in December should be kept to give people the second dose they require with the Pfizer vaccine.

The health secretary begins her statement on the Covid-19 vaccination programme by saying: "Yesterday was the day we've all been hoping and waiting for."

Jeane Freeman says she will update MSPs on the deployment of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

"Today I can confirm that we will begin on Tuesday the 8th of December."

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will now deliver a statement at Holyrood on the Scottish government's Covid-19 vaccination plans.

Image source, JOHN CAIRNS/UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use.

It is now expected that the first vaccinations of people in Scotland will take place on Tuesday 8 December.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the process would begin with those who will be administering the vaccine, followed by those with the greatest clinical need.

The jab - which is given in two doses several weeks apart - offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness.

• Read more here
• UK approves Pfizer Covid vaccine for use next week
• What are the safety checks for vaccines?
• When will I be vaccinated against Covid?

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for mass vaccination.

Britain's medicines regulator, the MHRA, says the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe to be rolled out.

The first doses are already on their way to the UK, with 800,000 due in the coming days, Pfizer said.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the NHS will contact people about jabs.

Elderly people in care homes and care home staff have been placed top of the priority list, followed by over-80s and health and care staff.

• Read more here
• What are the safety checks for vaccines
• How will I get a vaccine?
• NHS staff: 'Vaccine is a game changer'

Image source, Getty Images

Care homes will not receive the first batches of the Covid vaccine in Scotland because of problems transporting small doses around the country.

The health secretary has said about 65,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Scotland by next Tuesday.

They will initially be stored in freezers at -70C in packs of 997 doses.

The first people to receive the jab may have to travel to where the doses are being held.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said that means care homes would have to wait until the issue of breaking down the vaccines packs into smaller doses is resolved.

She told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The doses come to us in packs of 997 and we need to know to what degree we can pack that down into smaller pack sizes.

"If we can't, then we absolutely need to bring those who need to be vaccinated to those freezers - to the centres - because there is a limit to how much you can transport the doses once you have defrosted them.

"We don't want to waste any of this vaccine so it's not possible at this point to take it in smaller doses into, for example, care homes."

• Read more here
• UK approves Pfizer Covid vaccine for use next week
• What are the safety checks for vaccines?
• When will I be vaccinated against Covid?

Image source, Getty Images

• 2.30-2.55pm: Portfolio Questions: Finance
• 2.55-3.25 pm Ministerial Statement: Delivery of COVID-19 vaccine (10mins statement, 20mins questions)
• 3.25-3.30pm Committee of the Whole Parliament - Stage 2 Proceedings: Scottish Parliament (Assistance for Political Parties) Bill
• 3.30-3.50pm Final Stage Proceedings: Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland (Amendment) Bill
• 3.50-5.35pm Stage 1 Debate: Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill
• 5.35pm Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill – Financial Resolution (No speakers required)
• 5.35pm Decision Time

• The education secretary confirms there will be no extension to Scotland's school Christmas holidays
• John Swinney tells Holyrood's Covid-19 committee that "the government intends to make no change to the school holiday arrangements"
• Mr Swinney also says there will be a staggered return of students to Scotland's university and college campuses in January. Covid-19 testing will also be in place
• The Chief Medical officer for Scotland says every health board in Scotland has access to the freezers needed for the Pfizer Coronvirus vaccine
• Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will deliver a statement on the vaccination programme from 2.55pm

Image source, Getty Images

• The first minister says the "buck stops with me" in terms of the responsibility for the vaccination programme
• People in Scotland will start to receive a Covid-19 vaccine from next week
• A further 51 deaths with Covid have been registered in the last 24 hours
• The first minister says the R number continues to be shown to be just below one
• Regulations to legally prevent eviction notices over Christmas are to be introduced
• Dundee United manager Micky Mellon and his coaching team have gone into self-isolation after three non-playing staff tested positive for Covid-19

Image source, Getty Images

David Torrance, SNP MSP for Kirkcaldy, asks what support can be given to the BiFab workforce and any companies interested in investing after the company went into administration today.

The first minister says it is a “deeply worrying time” for workers at BiFab and she is committed to doing “everything we can to give the company a positive future”.

She says the Scottish government, which is a minority shareholder in the company, would work with the administrators, trade union and others to secure this.

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

The best that can be said of BiFab going bust is that few workers stand to lose their jobs, as the yards have spent three years getting little more than necessary maintenance.

So not many hurt? Well, this goes much deeper than immediate job losses, and beyond 400-plus jobs that could have come from the contract it won.

The yards are totemic: they have been a vital sign that Scotland could gain from manufacturing for the green energy revolution. Without factories to build turbines or towers, though they were promised, there’s now little prospect for steel fabrication - one product Scots made well for the offshore oil industry. If there was a strategy, it failed, repeatedly.

For platforms and turbines to be located off the coast of Fife, Angus and Aberdeenshire, it's cheaper to build in Asia, the Middle East and Spain. Scottish yards lacked the government support and subsidy that their rivals get. But that’s too easy an excuse. They also lack the scale and efficiency of competitors, which required investment - public, private or both.

So what's being done about that? We're due to get a new manufacturing strategy from the Scottish government, imminently. The UK government has been talking about industrial strategy, with its focus on the north of England. Both will have a lot of heavy lifting to do if they're to raise the Scottish and UK game in industrial competitiveness.