Question reference: S6W-00249
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 26 May 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will revise its vaccination policy to ensure that, regardless of their home address, all school staff within the Glasgow City Council area are prioritised for vaccination within the next month.
Answer
All of our decision making in the approach to responding to Covid-19 is guided by the latest scientific evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) , advice from Health Protection Scotland and our Chief Medical Officer. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provides advice on immunisation to all UK Health Departments, including on the efficacy and safety of vaccines.
Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI.
The JCVI priority groups are based on either vulnerability to Covid-19, or on interacting with (and therefore possibly spreading to) people who are vulnerable to Covid-19.
The JCVI’s recommendation continues to be that an age-based approach is the best way to address the risk of severe illness and mortality.
Calling people forward in age cohorts is operationally very simple and this process has already worked well during the earlier stages of the programme. This approach will be taken by the 4 Nations across the UK and we will continue to vaccinate as quickly as supplies allow.
We are adhering to the priority list devised by the JCVI which has been designed to target those at greatest risk from COVID-19 and is estimated to address over 90% of preventable mortality from the virus in Scotland. This is the priority rollout all nations of the UK are working towards and it is extremely important that we adhere to these lists in order to avoid more lives being lost. It would be a dereliction of our duty to the people of Scotland to deviate from the JCVIs expert advice.