THE First Minister has accepted an offer from one of the founders of billion-pound Scottish firm BrewDog to help with the Covid vaccine roll-out.
James Watt, who owns a 24% stake in the Ellon-based brewing company, made the offer today on social media.
Hi @MattHancock & @NicolaSturgeon
— James Watt (@BrewDogJames) December 31, 2020
We would like to offer our closed @BrewDog venues to help with a quick roll out of the vaccine. For free.
We have waiting areas, huge refrigerators, seperate rooms for vaccinatations and an ace team who can help organise.
We want to help. pic.twitter.com/xljizBcfGx
Tagging both Nicola Sturgeon and the UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, he tweeted: “We would like to offer our closed @BrewDog venues to help with a quick roll out of the vaccine. For free.
“We have waiting areas, huge refrigerators, seperate rooms for vaccinations and an ace team who can help organise.
“We want to help.”
The offer was widely praised on social media, before Sturgeon herself responded.
The First Minister wrote simply: “Thank you. I’ll pass this on to our vaccination team.”
A spokesperson for BrewDog said: “We are excited to work with the Government to do all we can to help with a fast and effective vaccine rollout and we would like to thank Nicola Sturgeon for getting in touch so quickly.”
Many Twitter users have praised both Watt for the idea and Sturgeon for accepting it, while others wondered if the UK Government was likely to do the same.
However, the Scottish Health Secretary today said that the nation's ability to give people aged over 50 the new coronavirus vaccine by the spring target will depend on supplies, not venue space.
Jeane Freeman said: "[The spring target] can't be a guarantee because it depends on supplies but what I do know is that our planning is ready.
"Our modelling and the number of registered vaccinators we have is there.
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"As long as the supplies of both vaccines continue to come through to us then we are ready to deliver the vaccine to all of those in that Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority list - so that's everyone over 50 - in the spring we will get there as long as those supplies arrive.
"That is very positive and good news because that is a group of people that a committee of experts have identified as those who are most at risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19.
"It's really important that we work as hard as we can to make sure that we vaccinate those individuals as quickly as we can."
Freeman also confirmed that Scotland would receive 44,000 doses of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine next week, with the four nations continuing to plan supply and delivery.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.
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