Question reference: S5W-34422
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 8 January 2021
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the decision to change the period within which the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine is administered from 4 weeks to 12 weeks breaches any agreement made between patient and the NHS when the first vaccine was administered.
Answer
The change in relation to the timing of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, in line with Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice and supported by all four UK Chief Medical Officers, does not affect the consent for treatment when the first vaccine was administered. Obtaining informed consent is a process and not a single event and it does not guarantee that a treatment will be provided in the way originally set out if the circumstances change, in light of informed medical opinion as to the best way to most effectively protect public health.
Consent collected at the point of first vaccination dose only relates to the dose being provided at that time. When an individual presents for their second dose, it cannot be presumed that consent is continuing and before the second doses is administered the individual should be asked to consent to receive the second dose.