Chamber and committees

Given the current state of the booster vaccination programmes not just in the UK but around the world, boosters are not currently required for international travel or domestic use. They are not currently included in the Covid certification process—either the app or the non-app route. However, we anticipate that that may change in the future as boosters are used more widely internationally. There will, of course, be further discussions on the requirement across the four nations of the UK and in the European Union, and we will keep Parliament appropriately updated.

We know how harmful shielding can be and has been to the physical and mental health of those who had to do it. We do not want or expect to advise a return to shielding in the future. Most adults in Scotland and more than 94 per cent of adults on the highest risk list have received at least two doses of the vaccines—many of them will be getting their booster vaccination as well—and we know that the vaccines give a significant degree of protection.

We do not want to go back to shielding, but it is important that everyone who is in the highest risk category understands the protections that they can take to make themselves safer. It is important that all of us recognise that, by following the mitigations that we are being asked to follow, we are contributing to making the whole environment safer for those who are at the highest clinical risk.

The figures that the member has quoted today—which are, of course, of concern—are a reflection of the limitations on dental services during the pandemic. It is really important, as with other treatments, that there is a catch-up as quickly as possible. We will continue to support dentists as we did before the pandemic and as we will continue to do as we come out of it. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care’s winter support package, which he set out to the Parliament before recess, had funding for dentists, including for dental services for children.

Again, we understand the importance of the topic, and that will be reflected in the actions that we take in the coming weeks and months.

I want people to take advantage of lateral flow testing. I want people across the population to do that, and certainly young people and those who work in schools; for them, that is particularly important.

Testing, although we strongly recommend it, is of course voluntary, and, led by the Government, we all have a role to play in encouraging people to remember to regularly test with lateral flow devices. It is naturally the case that, when transmission is rising, people are perhaps more vigilant and will do it more often; and when cases start to fall again, perhaps that falls away. As I have said, we are going into a period in which cases appear to be rising again, so it is an important moment for us all to remind people of the role that regular testing can play in trying to identify cases of the virus and to break the chains of transmission.

Nobody denies that there was pressure on our NHS pre-Covid. That is why the Scottish Government had already introduced and was progressing well with a waiting times improvement plan, for example. Equally, nobody—not least anybody who wants to have credibility on these issues—can deny that that pressure has been significantly exacerbated by the global pandemic.

We are prioritising vaccination for elderly people in care homes now, as we did at the start of the vaccination programme. We were criticised at the start of the vaccination programme for doing that, because it made it look as though we were slower in our progress overall, but that was the right decision then and it is the right decision now.

We could not start vaccinating with booster jags until the JCVI gave its final advice, by which time many people had already passed the six-month mark. We are making sure that the pace of vaccination is as fast as it can be and we are looking at all ways to speed it up. However, the six-month rule is there.

We are taking a slightly different interpretation of six months from that taken by the health service in England; we are defining six months as 24 weeks rather than 26 weeks, to allow us to vaccinate that bit quicker. We will continue to speed up the programme as much as possible. I had a session with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and officials yesterday to look at what more we can do now and what more we need to do as we go into the lower age groups to make it as quick as possible.

All Governments across the UK are grappling with that question and taking approaches that are, although not identical, broadly similar. Our vaccination programme has gone well, overall. I have already cited figures that show how well it is going. We focus on that every day.

We also want to ensure that we support health boards to avoid queues or delays when people turn up for vaccination. It will always be difficult to strike a balance between local and mass access and between appointments and drop-ins. Those who administer the programme review that on a daily basis.

The vaccination programme is a success, but the next phase is critical to getting us through the winter. Nothing that the Government is doing is more important than that.

Finally—I can see the Presiding Officer gazing at me—I will answer on the Grampian situation. The MOD, rightly and understandably, often asks for such requests to be refined. It is important that we make use of military assistance where that is appropriate, but that we do not ask the military to do things that health boards should be doing for themselves. That is why that process is so important.

The first thing to say is that uptake rates for the Covid vaccines are exceptionally high across all age groups. Again, I thank people who have come forward in such huge numbers to get their vaccinations.

We continue to gather information on uptake and any reasons for vaccine hesitancy. We work with health boards and other groups to try to get anyone who has not already taken up their vaccine to consider doing so. It is important that people recognise that, if they have not taken up their vaccine already, they have not lost the opportunity to do so.

Part of that consideration is thinking about the locations for vaccination. As we have gone through the bulk of the initial phase of the programme, the considerations around appointments versus drop-in clinics have changed because there are smaller numbers of people still to come forward for vaccination. As we go further into the booster programme, those considerations will change again.

The programme delivery is quite dynamic and it is important that we continue to learn from the experience, consider the different stages of the programme and ensure that the overall arrangements are appropriate, taking into account all of that.

First, although I absolutely acknowledge that many of them do not like that face coverings have to be worn in classrooms, I think, nevertheless, that most parents and young people understand the reasons for it.

It is not the case—it is a mischaracterisation of the position to say that it is—that wearing of face coverings is “indefinite”. We do not want that to be in place for longer than is necessary; however, while it is necessary, it is an important protection. I said in my statement that we are monitoring case numbers and other relevant information weekly.

On why the position changed, I note that, at the start of October, the draft guidance, informed by the education advisory sub-group, was put together in the way that Oliver Mundell quoted. Of course, back then, cases were declining. Since then, as I have set out fully today, cases plateaued but have now started to increase slightly again. It was in that light that we considered the matter further, with full input from the chief medical officer, and considered that it is an appropriate precautionary measure to keep the mitigations in place for the time being.

We will consider the situation on an on-going weekly basis; as soon as it is considered prudent to do so, the mitigations will be removed. I think that everybody would agree that, when it is safe, one of the first mitigations that we want to remove is the requirement for young people to wear face coverings in classrooms.

Those in the over-70 age group are being vaccinated—and many of them have already been vaccinated—with boosters. Those who have not yet had a booster will be vaccinated between now and early November. In total, more than half a million people have had the vaccine boosters, and people who are aged over 70 are being prioritised. Some of those who are aged between 60 and 69 have also started to receive letters.

In all the important discussions about booster vaccinations today, I want to make it very clear that, although there will, no doubt, continue to be questions and people will push us to go faster—and rightly so—there is probably no single bigger responsibility on the shoulders of Government right now than to get the booster programme delivered as quickly as possible. It is the biggest protection that we will have over the winter months, and I assure everyone that the greatest possible priority is being given to it.

It is of course entirely safe to have the Covid booster and the flu vaccine co-administered; it would not be happening if that was not the clear clinical advice, and it is allowing us to make sure that both those vaccination programmes happen as quickly as possible.

I have certainly had contacts to the effect that some people have been slightly concerned that their flu vaccine may be a couple of weeks later this year than in previous years because of the attempt that is under way to co-administer and not to call people twice. As I did in my statement, I reassure people that, given the timeframe of winter flu, the clear advice is that the timing of flu vaccinations is clinically appropriate. I therefore advise people that, as soon as they are invited to come forward, and if they are offered flu and Covid vaccinations in the same appointment, they should, please, make sure that they take that up.

We want everybody to get vaccinated with both the Covid vaccine and the flu vaccine. I am not a clinician but, if there is a good reason or a good clinical reason why somebody cannot do that, we will, of course, want to facilitate the vaccines being given separately. However, I also say to people—I hope that Stephen Kerr will assist with this—that, as Emma Harper has just highlighted, it is clinically safe to have the vaccinations together, and our strong advice is that people should have them together. That is the quickest way of getting everybody who is eligible vaccinated. I hope that that message goes out loudly and clearly, but I also hear the other message. If there are good reasons why that cannot happen, we have to facilitate the vaccines being given in other ways.