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NHS Highland hits halfway mark of coronavirus vaccine roll-out with the aim of vaccinating everyone over the age of 50, those with an underlying a health condition which puts them at increased risk, carer and or frontline health or care worker by the middle of April


By Ian Duncan

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Dr Tim Allison, director of public health for NHS Highland.
Dr Tim Allison, director of public health for NHS Highland.

More than half the population of Highland, Argyll and Bute have now received their first Covid-19 vaccination.

The milestone was surpassed earlier this week and means the vaccination programme in NHS Highland is ahead of the national average for percentage of population vaccinated.

And Dr Tim Allison, NHS Highland’s Director of Public Health, is asking for the public’s support to allow this progress to continue.

He said: “This is fantastic news and highlights the significant strides that have been made in delivering the Covid-19 vaccine across the NHS Highland board area.

“There is still a long way to go and we are asking for your help to enable us to continue to deliver the vaccination programme so efficiently.

“Our GP practices have been working under significant pressure throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and especially during the vaccine roll-out. We know that you may have heard of people younger than you receiving their Covid-19 vaccine earlier in another part of the country or another GP practice.

“Across Highland, Argyll and Bute there is little difference between GP practices: though some may be a little ahead at one time, others will catch up and may be slightly further forward the following week.”

Dr Allison said they were working to ensure that vaccine supplies were delivered where they were needed to keep progress across practices as constant as possible and they had been assured that they would have sufficient supplies to meet the target date of offering a vaccine to all over 50s by mid-April.

He said: "Your GP practice will contact you about your vaccination. I would encourage people to only contact your GP about the Covid-19 vaccination if you are over 65 and have not received an invitation to receive your Covid-19 vaccine. People aged over 50 will be contacted by the middle of April.”

If you are concerned that the practice does not have up-to-date contact details for you, please check the practice website for a process on how to update your details.

NHS Highland can confirm that there are some GP practices which are not vaccinating people aged under 65. Please click here for further details.

We hope to have offered a first dose vaccine by mid-April to everyone who is:

• over the age of 50, or

• has a health condition which puts them at increased risk, or

• is a carer or frontline health or care worker.

You can view progress on the vaccination programme online here.


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