Murdo Fraser MSP has called on the SNP Government to address the roll-out of the Covid vaccine, which he has described as “pitifully slow.”
The Scottish Conservative politician, who represents the Mid Scotland and Fife region, has had numerous phone calls and emails from constituents, particularly elderly residents, who are very anxious at not receiving any notification as to when they will get the jag.
Commenting, Mr Fraser said: “I have been contacted by lots of very concerned residents who want to know why they haven’t received their jag yet, while people in the same age bracket in England have.
“The roll-out down south is well head of Scotland. It is pitifully slow up here by comparison.”
Mr Fraser continued: “GPs and the British Medical Association Scotland say they could be delivering the vaccine far more quickly, but the SNP Government are failing to get supplies where they are needed. Earlier this week, Dr Andrew Buist, a GP in Blairgowrie, who also chairs the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee, said that the Perthshire surgery had no Covid vaccine at that time, after some were expected to arrive on Monday.
“He highlighted that there is a problem with the supply of the vaccine to GP surgeries in Scotland, and how the Blairgowrie practice have only managed to vaccinate 100 out of 600 patients in the top priority group – residents in the over-80 age group.
“It was reported that Scotland currently has 400,000 unused doses of the vaccine and that England’s roll-out programme was twice as fast last weekend. This is not good enough as the vaccine is our key weapon against Covid and is the only way we can eventually return to some form of normality.
“I am calling on the SNP Government to really pick up the pace in the vaccination programme and make sure all elderly residents receive it as soon as possible.”
