Preparations underway to get 16 and 17 year olds vaccinated

PLANNING is underway at NHS Shetland with the aim to offer the Pfizer vaccine to all 16 and 17 year olds as soon as possible.

NHS Shetland’s interim director for public health Dr Susan Laidlaw.

NHS Shetland’s interim director for public health Dr Susan Laidlaw.

On Wednesday, the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that this age group should be offered the opportunity to be vaccinated against Covid-19, a move that was welcomed by the Scottish Government.

Interim director of public health at NHS Shetland Dr Susan Laidlaw said on Thursday that work was under way to set up additional clinics.

“We were advised of this programme change yesterday [Wednesday] and have started planning how to offer the vaccine to all 16 and 17 year olds,” Dr Laidlaw told Shetland News.

“It is likely we will call this group into clinics in the same way we have for the over 18s and higher risk 16–17-year-olds.

“We will get these additional clinics set up as soon as we can but are obviously dependent on national resources such as specific patient information for this age group, vaccine supply and availability of staff.”

The latest Scottish Government figures show that in Shetland around 94 per cent of adults have had a first dose, and for second doses it is 89.2 per cent.