Question reference: S5W-33844
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 4 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 4 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all staff who work within community pharmacies will be prioritised for a COVID-19 vaccination.
Answer
Some key workers, such as pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, are included in the top priority groups, and already eligible for a vaccine, but other pharmacy staff including drivers and medical home care delivery drivers who deliver medication and equipment to patient homes are not included in the priority list.
The decision is to not prioritise other pharmacy staff for the following reasons:
- Criticality of service is not an indication for priority vaccination because clinical risk is the overriding concern. This is influenced most greatly by age, not occupation.
- Currently there is no sectoral prioritisation of any workers other than frontline health and social care workers.
- Individual staff will be called forward for vaccination according to their position on the priority list, if they are eligible within the JCVI Cohorts.
Our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, informed and guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI.