THOUSANDS of frontline health staff yesterday took part in the biggest mass vaccination session to be held so far in the UK at Glasgow’s NHS Louisa Jordan hospital.
Up to 5000 health and social care workers were expected to be given the Covid jab at the SEC building, which has been converted for use as an emergency hospital during the pandemic.
Around 500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were due to be administered each hour from 8.45am to 7.30pm.
It came as Scotland recorded 1753 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 78 deaths of people who tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days.
The number of new infections is 407 below the 2160 announced on Friday but the number of people who have died is 17 higher.
It is the first time this year the number of new cases in Scotland has dropped below 2000 – although the figures being reported tend to be lower at the weekends.
Commenting on the vaccine rollout in Glasgow, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “To have 5000 vaccinations taking place at NHS Louisa Jordan in a single day is testament to the hard work of all the staff at the hospital and I want to thank each and every one of them for their part in the rollout of the biggest vaccination programme ever undertaken in Scotland.
“The vaccine offers us hope and as we vaccinate more and more people that hope becomes more real.
“On its own, it won’t be enough to win the race against this virus.
“Our testing programme is crucial. In addition, each one of us needs to follow the guidance, abide by the restrictions, wash our hands, wear face coverings and maintain a two-metre distance from others.
“If we all play our part to suppress the prevalence of the virus, then vaccination can do the job we need it to do.”
Dr Linda De Caestecker, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s public health director, said the mass clinic was a “significant milestone”.
She added: “This will play a crucial role in preventing the harm caused by this virus and keeping our vital staff safe to care for patients across healthcare settings.”
And health officials have described a Covid outbreak on the island of Barra as a “serious situation” after 17 new cases were identified.
More than 110 people – around a 10th of the island’s total population – are in isolation and the total number of cases has now reached 27.
NHS Western Isles chief executive Gordon Jamieson said: “This is a serious situation with the number of cases escalating quickly and over 110 close contacts identified.”
Meanwhile, a leading epidemiologist has warned a new strain of Covid from Brazil is likely to already be in the UK, despite a travel ban from affected countries.
The first variant of the virus from Brazil has a small number of mutations and eight confirmed cases have been identified in the UK.
The second, which has been detected in Manaus, has not been found in the UK so far.
The Government had already banned flights from South America, Portugal and Cape Verde on Thursday in response, having previously banned travel from South Africa because of a new Covid strain.
From tomorrow, everyone who travels into the UK will need to self-isolate for 10 days or receive a negative result from a Covid test taken at least five days after they entered the country.
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said: “In terms of the South African one, we had imported cases already by the time we put in additional restrictions for South African travellers.
“For the Brazilian one … I don’t think there is evidence that we’ve imported cases of the Manaus strain, as far as I’m aware at least, but it is likely that we probably have.
“We are one of the most connected countries in the world so I would find it unusual if we hadn’t imported some cases into the UK.”
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