A BORDERS MSP has argued that plans to vaccinate every person aged 80 and over in Scotland by the start of February are on course “to fall far short”.

Rachael Hamilton, Conservative representative for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, made the claim in a statement issued on Tuesday (January 12).

Mrs Hamilton said: “The roll-out of the vaccine appears to be slower in Scotland than other parts of the UK.

“Time is precious, and the SNP government cannot take its eye off the ball.

“If they are going to meet their targets, we need to see double the number of daily doses.

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“I want to thank all those who are administering the vaccine, from NHS staff to armed forces personnel, we owe you a huge debt of gratitude.

“The SNP need to show us their plan to accelerate the process because on current trends, they’re going to fall far short.”

The Scottish Government removed its vaccine roll-out plan – which contained information about doses administered across Scotland – from its website, with the UK Government stating that some of the data should not have been published.

On receiving the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine last week, the Scottish Government said Scotland has an allocation of 533,640 doses in January.

On January 10, health secretary Jeane Freeman said: “We have over 1,100 vaccination sites, including over 750 GP practices with a growing core of over 3000 trained vaccinators to deliver the vaccine.

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“As ever, we are dependent on the vaccine supply and we continue to explore all possible options to speed up the delivery of all vaccine and bring forward timescales where possible.

“This work, alongside our expanded testing strategy, rigorously complying with restrictions where we live and adhering to the public health guidance, is essential to protect those most at risk and minimise further impact on the NHS and social care services.”

At First Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (January 13), Nicola Sturgeon spoke about the schedule for the roll-out.

“We have already vaccinated more than 80 per cent of care home residents in Scotland, and more than half of front-line health and social care workers,” said the First Minister.

“The vaccination of those aged over 80 is under way and gathering speed.

“First doses for the over-80s will be completed by the start of February, and everyone aged over 70 will have been offered vaccination by mid-February.

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“It is our aim to vaccinate everyone over 65 and those with extreme clinical vulnerability by the end of February. That means that, by the start of March, 1.4 million people will have received at least the first dose of vaccine.

"To support that, more than 1,100 vaccination centres are already operational in Scotland. That number will increase, with mass centres opening too, as supplies increase.

“That is all positive. Vaccination offers us a route back to a more normal life, and gives us real hope for the future.

“However, for now, we are in a race against the virus. To win the race, we must complete the vaccination programme as quickly as possible, which is what we will do, but we must also slow down the virus.”