Question reference: S5W-35487
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 25 February 2021
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government which "mild to moderate" learning disabilities people must have to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination as part of priority group 6, and what analysis it has undertaken to determine this.
Answer
We understand the anxiety around the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) criteria of only severe and profound learning disabilities being eligible for vaccination during group 6. We have now made the decision to include anyone with a learning/intellectual disability in group 6. As learning disabilities encompass a wide range of conditions, it is important to be clear that we are talking about people with a mild, moderate, severe or profound learning or intellectual disability such as fragile X syndrome. This does not include people with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or ADHD.
Our straightforward approach of inviting everyone with a mild, moderate, severe or profound learning or intellectual disability for vaccination during group 6 will bring peace of mind and adds only a small number of people to the current numbers who would have otherwise been offered vaccination later.