A further Covid-19 booster vaccination will be offered to residents at higher risk of a severe Covid-19 infection from September in line with the rest of the UK.
Following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation(JCVI) an additional booster will be offered to
- All residents of care homes for older adults and all the staff working in them
- All frontline NHS health and social care workers
- All adults aged 50 years and over
- Anyone aged 5 to 49 years old who is in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women
- Anyone aged 5 to 49 years old who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed
- Carers aged 16 to 49 years old
Speaking on the programme for these boosters, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The vaccination programme in Scotland continues to be a huge success and this is testament to the efforts of everyone involved in its delivery and all those who took up their appointment offers.
“Vaccination has been our most effective tool against coronavirus. However, the degree of protection offered wanes over time.
“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.
“I continue to encourage everyone to receive the doses they are eligible for as and when they become available.”
This vaccination campaign as with previous campaigns will see the frontline NHS staff vaccinated first followed by the vulnerable groups with the boosters where possible, given at the same time as the Flu vaccine for those who are eligible.
These boosters are by appointment only and letters will be sent out to the first eligible group during August for appointments at the beginning of September.
Details of the delivery timetable are underway with each health board and more information will be made available in due course. Those who will be eligible for these boosters do not need to do anything and will receive a letter with an appointment and instructions.