Schoolgirl one of the first in Scotland to get jab in 12-15 rollout

A Lanarkshire schoolgirl and her cousin were among the first 12 to 15-year-olds in Scotland to get a coronavirus vaccine on Monday.

Molly Rowe, 15, who attends St John Ogilvie High School in Hamilton, was vaccinated at the Fernhill Community Centre in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, along with her cousin Harry Yates, 14, from East Kilbride.

The pair, who have had both dancing and football sessions disrupted due to coronavirus, said they were happy to come after school and get the Pfizer jab before travelling to Spain for a family holiday in two weeks.

Connor McKinnie, 13, from Rutherglen, was also one of the first through the door at the drop-in vaccine centre, after his mother Margaret spotted on Facebook it was opening.

It comes as Scotland’s rollout of Covid booster vaccinations for elderly care home residents also got under way.

Older residents in care homes are the first to be offered both flu and coronavirus booster vaccines from Monday, following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the Scottish Government confirmed.

Frontline health and social care workers will able to book an appointment for a booster jab online at NHS Inform from Tuesday.

Adults aged 70 and over and those aged 16 and over who are on the highest risk list, previously known as the shielding list, will start being contacted by letter or by their GP from the end of September.

People on the highest risk list who were severely immunosuppressed at the time of their last Covid vaccination will be offered a third primary dose instead.

The Scottish Government confirmed other eligible groups, including all those aged 16 to 49 with underlying health conditions, adult carers, unpaid and young carers, adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals and all adults over 50, will be able to book an appointment online from October.

Heath Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “I am pleased to see the booster programme getting under way for residents in care homes for older people, offering longer lasting protection against severe Covid-19 illness.”

He added: “We are also starting vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds after Scottish ministers accepted advice from the four UK chief medical officers.

“This group can now head to drop-in clinics for their jabs or wait for a letter offering them a scheduled appointment.”

The booster vaccines will be offered to millions of people across the UK from Monday, alongside annual flu jabs.

Scientists behind the CovBoost trial said that there was a “boost” in antibody levels generated among people who had a third dose in the clinical trial.

The study, which informed the JCVI’s decision for the booster programme, is due to report its findings publicly in early October.

Three vaccines have been approved as safe and effective as boosters, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, but experts have decided to opt for Pfizer as a preference after studies showed it is well tolerated and works well as a booster.

The latest data from the Scottish Government released on Monday afternoon showed 4,157,613 people across Scotland have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination and 3,810,775 have received their second dose.

A total of 2,917 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Scotland in the past 24 hours but no deaths have also been recorded.

The Scottish Government stressed registry offices are generally closed at weekends.

The data published on Monday indicates the death toll under the daily measure, of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days, remains at 8,378.

The daily test positivity rate is 10.8%, up from 9.1% the previous day.

The Scottish Government included a warning on the figures for the numbers of new cases, new tests and daily test positivity rate, stating: “Please note that NHS Grampian Lab have not submitted lab files since Saturday September 18, investigation into this issue is ongoing.”

There were 1,088 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 14 on the previous day, with 97 in intensive care, down three.