Nicola Sturgeon Covid update: What did today's announcement say?

On Monday, the Chief Medical Officers (CMO) of the four devolved nations recommended the vaccine be rolled out to all children aged 12-15 in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. 

Speaking in front of MSPs this afternoon, the first minister confirmed this would go ahead in Scotland as well as providing further details of a booster jag scheme. 

These measures are part of a plan regarding how Scotland plans to deal with the pandemic over winter amid warnings from experts of a "rough" few months ahead.

Here's what we learned from Nicola Sturgeon's Covid update on Tuesday...

1. Booster jabs to be given to all those over-50

Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that a booster jab scheme will be rolled out to all those aged over-50 in Scotland following advice from the JCVI. 

All those aged 16-65 who were initially in one of the top nine priority groups can also receive a booster vaccine, which comes in addition to a third dose programme for those over-12 who are severely immunosuppressed, including those with leukaemia and advanced HIV.  

Flu jabs and Covid boosters will be administered stimulataneously where possible, with the booster composed of a single shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. 

The first minister confirmed these groups would be invited to receive their jab, with the government aiming to start the rollout of the booster scheme as soon as possible. 

2. Children aged 12-15 to be offered vaccine in Scotland

Following advice from the four CMOs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland published yesterday, children aged 12-15 in Scotland will be offered the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine. 

Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the recommendation and thanks the CMOs for the quick and rigourous investigation.

She said: "We will move to implement the advice as quickly as possible. Our supplies of vaccine are adequate to allow us to do this."

Scotland is the last of the four nations to confirm the vaccination of this age group, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland confirming earlier on Tuesday. 

Children in this age group will be able to attend a drop in vaccination centre in the coming weeks.  

3. Covid case figures seem to be falling

As always, the first minister provided an update of the Covid rates, hospitalisations and deaths at the beginning of her statement. 

Today's figures were a significant drop compared to the daily figures last week, with 3,375 cases recorded over the past 24-hours. 

The first minister once again highlighted that this was cause for optimism after a long sustained period of daily cases hovering around the 6,000 mark. 

She said that "cases are actually starting fall slightly"; she confirmed that cases fell to an average of 5,506 cases per day for the week ending September 11, compared to 6,290 cases per day to the week ending September 4. 

However, she also encouraged people not to become complacent, with over 1,000 people still in hospital with Covid and a further 21 deaths registered. 

4. No changes to current regulations

Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that Cabinet had met this morning and had not made any changes to the current regulations in place in Scotland. 

It means that no restrictions are being reintroduced.  

5. Scotland to continue to use highest risk list

While the UK Government is no longer using its patient shielding list, Scotland will continue to use its equivalent "highest risk" list to continue communication with those most at risk of severe illness. 

Speaking on the decision from Westminster, the first minister said: "In light of that - and to avoid any mistaken assumption - it is important to confirm that the Scottish Government is not following suit at this stage.

"We will continue to use our equivalent list – the Highest Risk List.

"We have used this throughout the pandemic to communicate with those at highest risk and ensure they have advice.

"We will continue to keep it under the review, but for the moment we believe it is important to retain it."