Covid: How close is Scotland to full vaccination?

According to NHS Scotland, all adults in Scotland should be vaccinated against Covid-19.

What did the Scottish vaccination program achieve in the first 296 days when vaccinations over the age of 12 began and the vaccination certificate system was introduced?

The Covid-19 vaccination program was the greatest immunization effort in NHS history.

It started in scotland December 8th last year, The vaccinated person himself receives the jab first.

Since then, 4,189,701 initial doses have been given, according to Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures. This represents 91% of people over the age of 16.

A total of 3,837,689 people have also received a second dose.

There is just over 709,000 things to do to cover 100% of all Scottish people over the age of 16.

Almost half of the group received the first vaccination, but the other groups were still waiting or decided not to be vaccinated.

Looking only at ages 40 and older, over 95% are fully vaccinated with both doses, and some are also beginning to receive boosters.

Professor Andrew Watterson, a public health researcher at the University of Stirling, says the Covid vaccination program really stands out when compared to similar efforts.

“The deployment of the Covid vaccine goes far beyond what has ever existed for other infectious diseases at a pace and scale,” he says.

“The first vaccination in the care facility was really impressive. As of September 28, 2021, the number of double-dose vaccines for care facility staff was 100% and 93% for front-line healthcare professionals. , 86% of front-line social welfare workers. That’s great. “

However, Professor Watterson said that some high-risk groups, such as police officers, teachers, and food processing workers, were “significantly exposed” at the start of the vaccination program, unlike other European countries that prioritized these groups. I think it’s still being done.

Scotland, like all other British countries, Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization When prioritizing who should be vaccinated first.

Residents of care homes for the elderly were given top priority, followed by people over the age of 80 and front-line medical and social care workers.

Everyone over the age of 50 was on the priority list, including those with particularly vulnerable health.

Today, almost everyone over the age of 60 in Scotland is fully vaccinated, and the overwhelming majority over the age of 50 are also vaccinated.

The Scottish Government said vaccination priorities were “based on age and risk-related health factors, with major workers in these categories being first vaccinated.” ..

Vaccination under the age of 50 began in May and has not yet exceeded 90% of the first dose in any of the younger age groups.

However, a graph showing vaccinations over time in these groups reveals a trend. The younger the age group, the lower the plateau of population coverage.

Exceptions to this trend can be groups aged 16-17.

Immunization efforts for most of these teenagers Started in augustHowever, coverage is already over 70% on the first dose.

Professor Watterson said the Scottish Government should continue to focus on immunization of young people against the BBC Scotland, as 37% of 18-29 years and 25% of 30-39 years have not yet been fully vaccinated. He said.

“Some of these groups are at greatest risk, both of which are high risk in their own right and present high risk to others,” he says.

“Many double vaccinations in these groups are actually rising very slowly over the weeks.”

One of the purposes of the Scottish Vaccine Passport is to encourage young people to vaccinate.

Under this system, people over the age of 18 may be required to prove that they are fully vaccinated. Before admission to a particular venue or event..

The policy was announced earlier last month Officially approved by Holyrood on 9th September..

Scotland’s national clinical director Jason Leitch, who spoke at BBC Radio Scotland on September 16, said it was “early” but hopes there will be a “rise” in young people vaccinated for this plan. Said that.

Looking at the PHS numbers for daily vaccinations by age group, there is a clear surge between the ages of 18 and 29 at the beginning of September.

The decline in daily vaccinations during August has reversed and numbers begin to increase again.

It cannot be argued that this increase is directly related to the publication of vaccine certificates, as other factors such as vaccine supply can affect the number of daily vaccinations, but undermine the progress of this group. It doesn’t seem to happen.

Vaccinations are targeted for fall and winter, as influenza is more seasonal than Covid.

And while promotional campaigns are run to encourage coverage, it’s no exaggeration to say that some groups haven’t been vaccinated anywhere near the level of attention the Covid vaccination program has. Not eligible for inoculation.

Professor Waterson Scottish Public Health Numbers for January This Year, This shows that the coverage of elderly groups and medical and social care staff is much lower than the coverage of Covid vaccination.

In the United Kingdom, total influenza vaccine intake ranged from 71% to 75% between 2004-2005 and 2019-2020, according to Professor Waterson.

Currently, all local governments have achieved a dose 2 range of at least 75% of the population over the age of 16.

There is a large stretch between the city of Glasgow (75.9%) at the bottom of the table and the adjacent East Dunbartonshire (92.9%) at the top.

However, it should be noted that depending on how the vaccination program is deployed, local governments with many young people will lag further behind.

Currently, Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Moderna vaccines are being vaccinated in Scotland, requiring two doses each.

Over 50% of the jabs given were AstraZeneca vaccines.

Looking at all vaccine products, the highest number of jabs given daily was on February 11, with 65,249 vaccinations.

There were four major vaccination pushes in winter and spring, but fewer people are vaccinated and fewer people are vaccinated per day.

The clearest way to see how vaccination works is to count the number of death certificates that mention Covid-19.

Using the National Records of Scotland figures, there are two major peaks in daily deaths. One is April 2020 and the other is January 2021.

The number of cases recorded from this summer to autumn is much higher than in January, but the number of deaths is much lower.

In this pandemic “wave,” there are early signs that deaths can peak soon. In that case, the number of deaths will peak at about a quarter of April 2020.

Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there is also evidence that the vaccination program has reduced hospital stays for Covid treatment. Numbers recently released by Public Health Scotland It seems to support it.

The average length of hospital stay in January was 13 days, but by June it had halved.

Professor Waterson states that Scotland needs to continue vaccination to survive the pandemic.

“There was an incredible amount of work, but we can’t relax. We need to go further,” he says.

He argues that the Scottish government should also adopt a “zero-tolerance” approach to Covid, following the example of a country like New Zealand, rather than allowing the case numbers to be unchecked.

“Both polio and smallpox were the targets of eradication, but in Scotland, the government seems to have admitted that not only can Covid not be eradicated, but it cannot be eradicated,” he says.

“It’s worth reflecting that if we couldn’t eradicate smallpox globally, we would still be alive. Still, after long developments and global action, smallpox disappeared in the 1970s. I did. “

Scottish government Adjusted “strategic intent” for Covid in June“While recovering and rebuilding for a better future, we want to limit the virus to a level consistent with mitigating its harm,” he said.

A spokeswoman told the BBC: “The Scottish immunization program is one of the fastest in the world, and vaccination is arguably the best way to get out of the pandemic, so we encourage those who haven’t moved forward to continue to do so. And it’s the best way to protect ourselves, our family and friends, and our community. “