Boosters for all adults by the end of January won’t be easy, expert warns

Professor Linda Bauld said the target, which has been set by both the Scottish and UK Governments for offering people a third dose of coronavirus vaccine, is “very ambitious”

She spoke out after a number of people reported being turned away from vaccination centres when they went for their boosters, in the wake of changed advice from experts at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Having previously advised that people should wait for six months after their second dose of a vaccine before coming forward for another jag, the JCVI announced this week that booster doses can be given after three months.

But a number of people took to social media to complain that, despite this change, they have not yet been able to get their third injection.

However, Prof Bauld, of Edinburgh University, said the change is a “big logistical undertaking” and that people “can’t just click a finger after the JCVI made these announcements and get the whole system to shift”.

It is hoped that providing booster doses more rapidly, and giving them to all adults, will help combat the threat posed by the new Omicron variant, which has now been found in Scotland.