Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Nothing short of a shambles’: Calls for clarity over Scotland’s booster roll-out after people turned away

The Scottish Government has been accused of "mixed messages" on booster eligibility.

The Scottish Government has apologised after people eligible for boosters got turned away due to the “necessary protocols” not being in place.

The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) issued new guidance on Monday recommending all over-18s be offered a booster and cutting the interval between the second and third dose from six months to three.

However, there were reports across the country of eligible individuals over 40 – the first of the younger cohorts to be given the booster – being turned away if they had received their second dose less than six months ago.

Opposition parties rounded on the Scottish Government for leaving the public “confused over mixed messages” regarding their booster eligibility.

Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs she had already moved her own booster jab appointment forward from late December.

It comes a day after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf urged those who have already booked an appointment for six months after their second jab to move it forward if they can. 

Yet NHS advice remains to wait at least six months despite the new JCVI guidance, with health boards telling the public that work is underway to “put the necessary legal documentation in place” to implement the changes.

On Wednesday, the Scottish Government apologised to individuals turned away and said “instructions have now been issued to all health boards to vaccinate in line with the latest advice”.

Scotland’s National Clinical Director, Jason Leitch, also assured members of the public on social media that booster doses would be given to those who were eligible under the updated guidelines.

The NHS Inform website states adults over 40 are now eligible to receive their booster dose but says those aged 18 to 39 years cannot currently book a third dose.

‘Nothing short of a shambles’

Scottish Labour’s Health and Covid Recovery spokesperson Jackie Baillie said confusion over the booster jab roll-out is “nothing short of a shambles”.

She added: “The need to accelerate our booster programme has never been greater, so we cannot have people being turned away.

Jackie Baillie at the Scottish Parliament.

“The change to JCVI guidance is clear, and all those eligible should be able to receive their booster as quickly as possible.”

Dr Sandesh Gulhane, Scottish Conservative health spokesman, said the public are “confused over mixed messages” from the Scottish Government on booster eligiblity.

He added: “We are facing an urgent and developing situation that requires immediate action.

“The JCVI changed their advice on the length of time between doses two days ago, but the SNP are dragging their heels on putting this into practice in our NHS.

John Swinney said he hoped the vaccine would prevent a similar lockdown being repeated even as cases rise

“No-one that is eligible to get their booster jag under current guidance should be turned away from vaccination clinics.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton claimed people had to be turned away because Mr Yousaf “hasn’t sorted the logistics out”.

He added: “I have been calling for months for the government to put rocket boosters under the booster programme.

“I wish the health secretary had started laying the groundwork then, rather than having to patch things up in a hurry.”

Instructions issued to health boards

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Following JCVI advice, clinical and legal guidance requires to be put in place for vaccination teams to implement the changes.

“This has been progressed urgently and instructions have now issued to all health boards to vaccinate in line with the latest advice.

“The new guidance is also being updated on the NHS Inform website.

“We apologise to those people who have been keen to get their booster vaccination and attended before the necessary protocols were in place.

“Booster appointments are booked in advance via the portal, therefore the vast majority of appointments will not have been affected.”