MORE than 1,000 vaccination sites will be operational across Scotland - as Nicola Sturgeon confirmed more than 113,000 people have now received the jag.
The First Minister told her daily coronavirus briefing that all those over the age of 80 will receive their first dose of the vaccine over the “next four weeks”- while “more than 1,100 vaccination sites will be operational across Scotland”, by next week including GP surgeries and "community vaccination centres".
The First Minister said that plans are being drawn up for "mass vaccination centres" to be opened in the coming weeks in "strategic locations across the country", but stressed they are not yet needed because "we don't have the volumes of supply to require that right now".
She added: "The number of vaccination sites will continue to grow as our supplies of the vaccine increase - and as pharmacies and mass vaccination centres start being used to providing the vaccine.
"But from next week, more than 1,100 sites will be active and operation in getting this vaccine into people’s arms."
Ms Sturgeon praised the start of the vaccination rollout in Scotland – announcing that 113,459 people have received their first dose of the Pfizer jag as of Sunday.
The Oxford vaccine, which started to be administered in Scotland on Monday, will be included in figures from next week.
She added: “We are now well over halfway through vaccinating care home residents with their first dose of the vaccine.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Warning of delays to rollout of Covid jags to over-80s
“We very much hope that the vaccine will very soon start to significantly reduce the risk of care home residents becoming ill with the virus.”
Ms Sturgeon added that the programme is “already starting to protect a significant proportion of the people who are most vulnerable to Covid”.
The First Minister had been under pressure from the Scottish Conservatives to publish daily figures on the number of people who have been vaccinated.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon has 'no excuses' not to publish daily vaccine stats
Boris Johnson has committed to publish daily figures and Ms Sturgeon had so far said she would not commit to following suit.
But the First Minister confirmed that from Monday, the Scottish Government will now publish the statistics “every week day” .
Ms Sturgeon was pressed over any issues with rolling out the vaccine on a mass scale in isolated and rural parts of Scotland - confirming that mobile vaccination centres will be used - while mass hubs will be used to ramp up the programme.
She said: "There are often greater challenges in delivering health services in rural, remote populations that there are in urban areas.
"I don't think I would expect and I wouldn't want to see a slower pace of deployment - but how we deploy may be different.
"The 1,100 sites that will be operational from next week, the majority of those are GP practices - so they are already in locations that take accout or rurality and the remote nature of operations."
Ms Sturgeon added: "Others will be community vaccination centres or community hopsitals, health centres and other places.
"Into that, particularly in more remote areas, we'll be adding mobile vaccination units and we are stil working thorugh with health boards exactly how much of that is needed and in what areas.
"In a few weeks from now, we wil see community pharmacies starting to deliver vaccination as well. We will also see in strategic locations across the country, mass vaccination centres."
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