Everything you need to know about NHS Lothian's Covid-19 vaccination roll-out

A member of the vaccine team prepares a syringe with a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine

NHS Lothian has released further details of its coronavirus vaccination programme, including when it expects to vaccinate each demographic and how residents will be able to book vaccinations.

Which vaccine will I receive?

That depends on when you receive your vaccine, and where.

Currently, two vaccines have been approved and are in use, the BioNTech-Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, both of which require two doses spaced over up to 12 weeks.

Members of the Vaccination Team work at the vaccination centre set up at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre

Since their introduction, government policy changed from giving the second dose at 21 and 28 days respectively to giving it up to 12 weeks for both.

This was made on the basis that both vaccines confer significant protection after the first dose and that the greater public health priority is to maximise coverage of first dose rather than of second dose.

The Pfizer jab was approved in early December and has therefore been used for the earliest parts of NHS Lothian’s vaccination programme.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was approved in late December and has been deployed into the newer parts of the programme.

A third vaccine, Moderna, has been approved but will not come into use until the spring of 2021.

According to NHS Lothian, the vaccines have different characteristics in terms of cold chain and administration that mean they are not both suitable for all venues being utilised by the health board.

When will I receive my vaccine?

The Scottish government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has published guidance outlining nine demographic groups, and ordered them in terms of priority.

From highest priority to lowest, they are:

Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers

All those 80 years of age or older, and frontline health and social care workers

All those aged 75 or older

All those aged 70 or older, and ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ (CEV) individuals

All those aged 65 or older

All individuals aged 16 to 64-years-old with underlying health condition ‘which put them at higher risk of serious disease or mortality’

All those aged 60 or older

All those aged 55 or older

All those aged 50 or older

Wave one:

The first wave of NHS Lothian’s vaccination programme, which began in December 2020, focuses on priority groups one and two.

In Edinburgh and the Lothians, 88,019 people qualify for the first wave of vaccinations, and NHS Lothian expects this first wave to be completed, with initial doses, by February 5.

Wave two:

Wave two, which began at the start of February with the opening of NHS Lothians mass vaccination centres, focuses on priority groups three, four and five.

There are 119,947 people who qualify for wave two of the vaccination programme in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

NHS Lothian is aiming for everyone in priority groups three, four and five to receive a vaccine offer in the first two weeks of February.

Those aged 75 to 79 and CEVs will be vaccinated through their GP surgery, while NHS Lothian is aiming to vaccinate those aged 70 to 74 through local health and social care partnership clinics and mass vaccination centres in the first two weeks of February.

Then, the health board is aiming to vaccinate all 65 to 69 year olds, again in clinics and mass vaccination centres, in the last two weeks of the month.

Wave three: