Nicola Sturgeon is to give an update today on the latest lockdown easing plans amid fears the Delta variant could postpone a lockdown exit.
The First Minister will address MSPs in Holyrood this afternoon, where she is expected to announce any changes to the current route map out of lockdown in Scotland.
It comes amid concerns that any exit from lockdown could be delayed by up to ten weeks due to the new Covid variant.
National Clinical Director, Jason Leitch, said eight to ten weeks of progress through the vaccine programme had been "lost" because of the "horrid" variant.
READ MORE: The data likely to decide the next step of Scotland’s lockdown easing
Scotland was due to move into Level 0 on June 28, however it is thought that the emergence of this new variant could push this date back to as far as September.
Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland yesterday, Professor Leitch said the new strain of Covid-19 has “changed the game” in terms of the vaccine rollout because of the lack of protection offered by the first dose alone.
He said a four-week delay for first doses could allow nine million second doses across the UK, but said the government was “trying desperately” to not impact the vaccine rollout for younger people.
Prof Leitch said: “The Delta variant has changed the game in one crucial way.
“Everything still works – distancing, ventilation, handwashing all still works – but what’s new about the Delta variant, and this is horrid, and we’ve learned it increasingly over the last few weeks, is the second dose is required for decent protection.
“You get about 30% protection from one dose, you get 80 to 85% from two.
READ MORE: Covid vaccines ‘highly effective’ against variant in preventing hospital admissions
“So therefore, if you’re thinking of this as a timeline, we’ve lost about eight to 10 weeks on that journey.
“We vaccinated about half the country’s adults twice, now we need to get that up.”
Ms Sturgeon will speak in Holyrood at 2pm today, and the broadcast will be available on Scottish Parliament TV and BBC Scotland. We'll also be bringing you all the latest updates in our live blog
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