Over-50s in Scotland to get autumn booster jab
- Published
The new booster programme will begin in September
Everyone over the age of 50 will be offered an additional Covid booster jab in the autumn, the Scottish government has confirmed.
The move is designed to top up their immunity and cut their risk of becoming severely ill.
Other groups of people at higher risk from the virus will also be given another dose of the vaccine.
They include care home residents and staff, frontline health workers and people with some health conditions.
The announcement came as new figures from the Office for National Statistics estimated that Covid rates in Scotland increased for the sixth week in a row.
Data for the week ending 7 July estimated that 1 in 16 people in Scotland would have tested positive for the virus.
This was a slight increase from 1 in 17 the previous week, the ONS said.
Cases are also continuing to increase across the rest of the UK, with 1 in 19 people in England estimated to have Covid last week, while the figure was 1 in 17 in both Wales and Northern Ireland.
The updated advice on vaccine boosters comes from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and will be followed across the UK.
It said the booster should be offered to:
residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
frontline health and social care workers
all adults aged 50 and over
those aged 5 to 49 in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women
those aged 5 to 49 who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
carers aged between 16 and 49
Vaccinations will be offered first to frontline health and social care workers and those who are most vulnerable to the effects of the virus.
Letters will be sent out to the first eligible groups next month, with appointments beginning in September.
Where possible, these boosters will be given at the same time as the flu vaccination to those who are eligible. For some people it will be their sixth dose of a Covid vaccine.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said vaccination has been the most effective tool against the virus, but the degree of protection offered wanes over time.
He said: "We know that those in high-priority groups are at higher risk of serious illness from Covid-19, and I therefore welcome this latest advice from the JCVI and can confirm that boosters will be offered to all those in eligible groups.
"The additional booster dose will improve your level of protection significantly and is the best way to protect yourself, your family and of course the NHS when we head into the busy winter months."
The ONS estimated that 334,000 people had the virus in Scotland last week - up by 21,000 from the previous week.
Deaths with Covid mentioned on the death certificate have also increased.
The National Records of Scotland reported 83 deaths involving Covid between 4 and 10 July, representing an increase of 22 from the previous week.
Lothian reported 20 deaths for the week, the highest in Scotland.
As of 10 July, a total of 15,098 people in Scotland have died after testing positive for Covid.
Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the ONS Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: "Infections are showing no signs of decreasing, with rates approaching levels last seen in March this year at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave.
"Rates have continued to increase across the UK and among all age groups.
"We will continue to closely monitor the data".
The ONS has been carrying out a Covid infection survey of randomly selected households in Scotland since September 2020.
Now mass testing has ended, it has become the best estimate of the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in Scotland.