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.

Thousands of vulnerable north and north-east pensioners told they will have to wait weeks for flu jabs

It is now being claimed over-75s are missing out on the flu jab in Grampian.
It is now being claimed over-75s are missing out on the flu jab in Grampian.

Thousands of vulnerable pensioners are being told they will have to wait weeks for their flu jab due to stock issues.

Scores of patients across the north and north-east are being turned away due to limited supplies of the vaccine, despite a high-profile campaign to sign up for the potentially life-saving jab.

Earlier this month, it emerged that NHS Scotland had failed to order an upgraded vaccine, known as Fluad, meaning it was forced to prioritise the older age group at the expense of people aged between 65-74.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


However, it has now emerged that some over-75s are being told they will also have to wait weeks to get the jab because of stock issues.

National policy has meant that practices have still to receive the remaining 40% of their allocation, which is still weeks away.

One pensioner, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The Scottish Government has been sending out letters urging over-75s like me to go and get a flu vaccination.

“I have a heart problem so it’s something I definitely need to get and that is why I went to my medical practice.

“When I tried to organise the jab, they told me that they were sorry but I couldn’t get the vaccination at this time.

“My surgery told me there was a shortage of the vaccine for over 75s and that I would have to wait at least two to three weeks for a jab and that it might take even longer.

“You don’t want people to be scared, but this could upset some people who do need the flu jab and it did come as a surprise to me.”

Another pensioner had arranged an appointment at Stonehaven Medical Centre to receive the jab but has now been asked to postpone it for two weeks.

He claimed he was told it was due to a “national shortage”, and was asked to phone back in a fortnight’s time.

The flu vaccine is supplied nationally rather than from local health boards. Practices received an initial 20% of allocation in September, which was followed up by 40% last month, with the remainder expected to be handed out by the middle of the month.

Some surgeries have been warning patients their appointments may be delayed until their stocks are replenished.

Fochabers Medical Practice posted on its website: “We are experiencing significant delays with receiving our 65-74 years and 75 years+ vaccines.

“This is a national issue and we are only able to vaccinate patients with the numbers that we receive.

“We are placing patients in a holding column so that we can reschedule appointments.”

It is estimated that almost 50,000 65-74s across the city and Aberdeenshire have been unable to get the flu jab.

The news comes in the wake of the region recording its highest winter death rate last year, with 495 of the 2,272 fatalities between December and March attributed to the “seasonal difference”.

That compared to a figure of 280 “additional” deaths during the colder months in the north-east in 2016-17 and 270 in the previous year.

In Aberdeen, there were a total of 918 deaths last winter, while in Aberdeenshire there were 954.

Moray’s score on the winter mortality index was 23%, while the rise in Highland was 19%, 31%  in the Western Isles, 21% in Orkney and 28% in Shetland.

Last night, North East MSP Tom Mason said: “It is deeply concerning to find out that people aged over 75 are not getting the flu jab as promised, so late in the year.

“Waiting till December or January for the enhanced vaccine may be too late for some.”

A spokesman for NHS Grampian said: “Supplies of the vaccine for people aged over 75 years is being supplied by national procurement to all practices in Scotland in a planned way with practices receiving 40% of their allocation in September, 20% in October and 40% in November.

“This means practices have needed to plan vaccination of their over-75 year old patients in a phased way as their monthly allocation of this vaccine has become available. As a consequence, some patients aged over 75 years are being offered vaccination during November.

“This timing is compatible with patients benefiting from the Protection vaccination offers prior to influenza beginning to circulate widely in the population.”

NHS Highland also confirmed there had been similar problems.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of the situation and are experiencing delays. It’s primarily a national problem, but we are currently managing the situation in our GP practices through phasing appointments.”