Getting booster is ‘civic duty’, says Yousaf, as seven in 10 Scots get third jag

Seven in 10 eligible Scots have been given the coronavirus-busting booster jag, latest figures have revealed.

In total, 72.1% of those eligible to get their Covid booster have been given the jag, with more than 70,000 boosters being given out in Scotland over the past two days.

Humza Yousaf Scotland’s Health Secretary said: “Getting vaccinated is your civic duty, you not only protect yourself, but your loved ones, those you interact with and the country as whole, so please get your booster as soon as you can.”

The eligible figure is based on adults who, by the end of the year, have already had their initial two jags and had their second more than 12 weeks ago.

Across Scotland as a whole, it means that 62.5% of those aged 18 and older have been given the booster.

The Scottish Government has urged people to get ‘boosted by the bells’, which it said was the best way to combat the Omicron coronavirus variant.

“Today’s figures reflect the enormous national effort which is going on right around the country to accelerate our vaccination programme in response to the Omicron variant,” the Health Secretary said.

“There will be vaccination centres open on Christmas Eve, so we want to see as many people as possible getting their booster right up until Christmas. If that isn’t possible for you, centres will be reopening from Monday 27, so please book an appointment today, or look out for drop-ins, so you can join the thousands of people who have been boosted by the bells.”

On Thursday, Scotland recorded its biggest daily rise in Omicron cases, and figures from Public Health Scotland revealed there had now been a total of 2,326 identified infections since the mutant variant was first spotted north of the border.

Latest figures show that Scotland has recorded 11 new coronavirus deaths and 6,215 positive tests in the last 24 hours.

It means the Covid-19 death toll in Scotland under the daily measure, of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days, is 9,812.

The latest Scottish Government figures on Thursday showed the daily positivity rate stood at 12.7%, down from 13% the previous day.

Across the UK, coronavirus infection levels have reached a record high, and the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics estimated that 1.4 million people in the country had the virus in the week ending December 16.

New research has suggested people who are infected by the Omicron variant of Covid may be less likely to end up in hospital. Two studies, published on Wednesday, suggested that catching Omicron was less likely to result in severe symptoms and hospital admission than earlier Covid strains such as Delta.