Chamber and committees

The following table shows the number of people who attended an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening appointment between January 2019 and July 2021. The programme was paused between 30 March 2020 and 6 July 2020 and when screening resumed it prioritised higher-risk screening participants.

It is important to note that the data below is management information and has not been subject to the necessary quality checks carried out for an official publication.

The following table shows the number of people screened for diabetic retinopathy in each month between January 2019 and July 2021. The Diabetic Eye Screening (DES) programme was paused between 30 March 2020 and 6 July 2020. When screening resumed, those at high risk of developing diabetic retinopathy were prioritised and invited first.

It is important to note that the following data is management information and has not been subject to the necessary quality checks carried out for an official publication.

In Scotland, it is estimated that over 9 in 10 adults, or 93.6% of the adult community population (95% credible interval: 92.3% to 94.7%) would have tested positive for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 from a blood sample in the week beginning 9 August 2021, suggesting that they had the infection in the past or have been vaccinated. Those who have tested positive for antibodies may have obtained them from prior infection before vaccination.

Antibody data from the ONS COVID-19 infection survey was published by the Scottish Government on 1 September 2021 at: Coronavirus (COVID-19): ONS Infection Survey – antibody data – 1 September 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The UK-wide Principle Trial (Platform Randomised Trial of Treatments on the Community for Epidemic and Pandemic Illness) funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is looking at early treatment for COVID-19 to prevent ill health and hospitalisation. It is evaluating a number of potential treatments. More information about this trial is at: Join the PRINCIPLE Trial — PRINCIPLE Trial

The Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office is also funding a trial of a potential anti-viral medicine as an early treatment of COVID-19. More information about this trial is at: GETAFIX - Glasgow Early Treatment Arm FavipiravirX (getafix-trial.org.uk)

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02419 on 21 September 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government does not hold national data for infectious diseases screening, antenatal haemoglobinopathies screening, or foetal anomaly ultrasound examinations within the pregnancy screening programme. These can be requested directly from individual NHS boards.

The following table shows the number of trisomy screens taken between January 2019 and June 2021.

It is important to note that the data provided below is management information and has not been subject to the necessary quality checks carried out for an official publication.

The Scottish Government is supporting vital research into the immune response to COVID-19 after infection and vaccination, which is being undertaken by the SIREN (Sars-CoV-2 Immunity & Reinfection Evaluation) research study. The primary aim of the study is to determine whether the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (anti-SARS-CoV-2) is associated with a reduction in the subsequent risk of re-infection over short term periods (reviewed monthly), the next year and in the longer-term. It will help us understand whether a previous infection of SARS-CoV-2 will offer an individual any protection against future infection of the same virus.

The Scottish Government is also participating in the recently launched Post Positive PCR Antibody Testing Initiative (PPPATI), which is using antibody testing to further our understanding of vaccine effectiveness and the immune response to COVID-19.

It is not. The change to routine cervical screening intervals from three years to five years is due to the implementation of a test for high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) as the primary screening test in March 2020. The new test is more effective at identifying those at risk of developing cervical cancer, meaning women who don’t have HPV will be invited for a cervical screening test every five years instead of every three.

The performance and attainment data published by The Times was obtained from the Scottish Government and is publicly available via the School Information Dashboard Profile | Tableau Public . The Scottish Government does not produce school league tables and never will. The guidance published alongside the data makes it clear that statistical data alone is not a measure of how well a school is doing. All schools are unique. To properly understand how well a school is doing it is important to look at a range of different data sources, together with information about the individual school.

A wide range of school performance and attainment data is collected and analysed by the Scottish Government to inform the National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan for education. The information gathered identifies where further improvements can be made which will, in turn, contribute to delivering our priorities to deliver equity and excellence in Scottish education.

Changes in patterns of mixing, adherence to restrictions, levels of asymptomatic infections and school holidays all impact on cases numbers and will influence the recent drop in positive cases. Waste-water Covid-19 levels continue to exceed case rates. However, relative to the peak reported at the start of July, levels have declined nationally. We will continue to monitor wastewater Covid closely and report the trend weekly in the modelling the epidemic/pandemic publication.