Question reference: S5W-35324
- Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 19 February 2021
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people on the transplant list had received their COVID-19 vaccination by 22 January 2021, and what impact the change in its prioritisation policy towards this group had.
Answer
The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age. Additionally the committee considers frontline health and social care workers who provide direct care to vulnerable people a high priority for vaccination.
JCVI has provided a definition of clinically vulnerable, which is separate from extremely vulnerable, but with some overlap. Under the JCVI definition, solid organ, bone marrow and stem cell transplant recipients are considered to be clinically vulnerable.
Individuals who are defined as clinically extremely vulnerable will have been vaccinated as part of group 4. JCVI priority group 4 includes all those 70 years of age and over, and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.
163,111 people who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (91% of the shielding list) have received their first dose as of 11 March 2021.