COVID-19 vaccine roll out in Scotland letter

A4 double sided letter to Scottish households from Fiona McQueen, Chief Nursing officer, Gregor Smith, Interim Chief Medical Officer, Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director, dated January 2021, with information about the vaccine roll out and on the reverse about COVID protection levels and the FACTS public health message and a A5 leaflet 'The COVID-19 vaccine', by NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government, Riaghaltas na h-Alba and Public Health Scotland

Delivered to all Scottish households, this letter details the start of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out and reassures people that vaccines have been through safety and effectiveness tests and confirmed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The leaflet gives more information about the vaccine. At this time, vaccines were not recommended for people who were pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding but advice later changed.

The UK COVID-19 vaccination programme started on 8 December 2020 with Matron May Parsons, administering then 90 year old Margaret Keenan’s first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised on the priority list and the length between doses (between 3 and twelve weeks). In December 2020, COVID-19 vaccines were first offered to residents in care homes for older adults and their carers, people aged over 80, and frontline health and social care workers. The remaining population is offered the vaccine according to age and existing health conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19. Age is one of the biggest factors of dying from COVID-19.

The letter ends with “Even with a vaccine, Scotland will face some restrictions for the foreseeable future, so we need to continue to stick to the rules for a while longer and follow the FACTS.” This was the Scottish public health messaging of Face coverings, Avoid crowns, Clean hands, Two metres, Self-isolate shown on the reverse of the letter. The letter shows the five COVID protection levels beginning on 2 November 2020. Each had different measures depending on the rate of COVID-19. Places could move between levels and people were advised to use the Scottish Government’s postcode checker to know the restrictions on their area. On 19 July 2021, all of Scotland was moved to protection level 0. Many restrictions were lifted by spring 2022.