Scotland is on course to roll-back further coronavirus restrictions as figures show 91% of over 40s have been given both vaccine doses.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said he is confident the next milestone target for removing further legal restrictions will be met on August 9, but said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon would still confirm in an update to the parliament on August 3.
Latest vaccine results show 24% of 40-49 year olds are still to be fully vaccinated, but Mr Yousaf said everyone over 40 had been offered at least one vaccine and added anyone trying to claim the country’s vaccine rates were “humiliating” was making “mischief”.
The government is not ruling out opening drop-in clinics in popular spots for young people, including pubs and restaurants.
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“Confident”
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday morning, Mr Yousaf said: “We have offered all 40-49 year olds the vaccine.
“We’ve given them a letter, drop-ins, there has also been mobile vaccination units.
“In any non-mandatory vaccine (programme) there are going to be people who don’t take it.
“I’d rather everyone did, but there are going to be people who don’t.
“That figure is the same as the Welsh figure…and in some respects higher than the English figure, which for 40-45 year olds is 70% and 45-49 year olds is 75%, which is our figure.
“As you go down the age cohort you get less of an uptake.”
He added: “We of course want to continue to drive uptake, but I would be confident at this stage we’re able to move towards the target date of August 9.
“The first minister will update parliament on August 3, it’s appropriate that she does and I wouldn’t want to pre-empt it.”
On having to isolate after receiving both doses of vaccine after August 9, Mr Yousaf added: “It is the plan we are working towards.
“At the moment there is a very narrow exemption for close contacts who have been double vaccinated working in critical national infrastructure…and what we would like to do is broaden that.
“We are looking at the data per week, I would not want to pre-empt it but this is a diminishing problem in Scotland.
“We are looking at cases (for exemption) on a case by case basis. For example there may be a supermarket warehouse which desperately needs this exemption, to make sure shelves are stacked, so that exemption might only last for a few days.”