Covid vaccinations begin at sites across Scotland
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NHS vaccinators are the first in Scotland to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine
The coronavirus vaccine is beginning its roll out in Scotland - 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 that will act as vaccination centres for priority groups.
The first person to receive the vaccine was a 90-year-old woman, given the vaccine at a hospital in Coventry.
Margaret Keenan, is the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine outside trial conditions - marking the start of the UK's mass vaccination programme.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that watching a video of Ms Keenan receiving the vaccine had given her "a lump in the throat", external.
"Feels like such a milestone moment after a tough year for everyone," she tweeted.
"The first vaccines in Scotland will be administered today too."
Andrew Mencnarowski, a senior charge nurse, was one of the first who received the injection at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
Mr Mencnarowski will now go on to vaccinate colleagues at the hospital.
He said he felt "absolutely fine" after the jab and thanked other staff for their hard work during the pandemic.
He said: "It's a huge step forward in the battle against the Covid virus.
"I feel very proud and excited to be part of it all."
Frontline worker Dr Katie Stewart was one of the first Scots to receive the Pfizer jab on Tuesday
Dr Katie Stewart, a consultant anaesthetist, was one of the first in line at NHS Borders.
She got the first of her two jabs on Tuesday morning and said: "After a very long hard year looking after patients with Covid and staying apart to protect each other, we finally have something to celebrate.
"The new vaccination has been tested on over 43,000 people around the world so I am truly delighted to be one of the first people in the Scottish Borders to receive one."
Nicola Sturgeon 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.
Nicola Sturgeon visited a vaccination centre in Edinburgh ahead of Tuesday's rollout
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.
Second shipment
The vaccination centres have an ultra-low temperature freezer that 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.
A second shipment of the vaccine is due to arrive in the UK next week.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that the size of the second shipment and number of doses available would depend on how quickly it could be manufactured in Belgium.
However, he said: "We've got a broad schedule and there'll be several millions for the UK as a whole and so several hundred thousand for Scotland over the remainder of this month.
"We've got that as a broad delivery schedule, but obviously the manufacturing process itself is complicated so we've got to get the stuff in the country."
How long does it take to work?
Those who receive the vaccine will not 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 in addition to preventing them from becoming ill.
Health board apology
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."
However, health bosses at NHS Lothian have apologised after problems with a new telephone appointment line set up to handle bookings for staff vaccinations.
The health board said the line had experienced "exceptionally high demand" since it was introduced last week, with some NHS staff struggling to get through to an advisor.
David Small, who is leading NHS Lothian's vaccination programme, added: "While thousands of appointments have been made, we know there are staff who have struggled to get through to an advisor and waited too long on hold.
"We apologise to our staff who have been affected and aim to have these issues fixed as soon as possible."
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