Humza Yousaf has insisted Scotland’s vaccine booster programme remains “on track” despite under-pressure NHS boards seeking help from the Army.
The health secretary said he would “completely reject” any suggestion the roll-out was sluggish or failing.
Mr Yousaf was questioned about the booster programme on The Sunday Show on the BBC, after the Mail on Sunday reported that health boards had asked for Army support.
It said that just 16% of eligible Scots had received a booster, and that all mainland boards had asked for help to deliver Covid booster and flu jabs as quickly as possible.
The health secretary said: “I completely reject any suggestion that the booster programme is failing.
“We are on track to meet the targets that I laid out to parliament previously. We are very much on track to do that.”
Mr Yousaf said a “couple of requests” had come in for Army help, but denied that all boards had issued the plea.
“I don’t recognise that. That doesn’t mean that we won’t have discussions with health boards about military support, but that doesn’t mean that an official request has come in from every single health board,” he told the BBC.
Army support
“I’ve always said that my position would be that it would be wrong of me not to do everything that I possibly can to help our health boards. If that means going to the Army, which is of course our Army as well, then we will do that.
“And I have to thank the armed services for responding so quickly to the requests that have gone in.”
Any suggestion that our booster programme is sluggish is one that I completely, completely reject.”
Mr Yousaf, who said the NHS was facing its “most challenging winter”, highlighted that the official advice on the time gap between vaccine doses and boosters was only received at the end of September.
“We started as soon as we got the green light from the experts at the JCVI, so of course we are working through a backlog – working through it at pace,” he said.
Mid-November target
The minister confirmed that he was “confident” the first four priority groups would get their vaccine by mid-November, with the rest by “early next year”.
People aged between 60 and 69 were told to expect letters “very soon”.
“Any suggestion that our booster programme is sluggish is one that I completely, completely reject,” said Mr Yousaf, who was also quizzed on preparations for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said the minister had “no answers”.
She said: “We need to see action to speed up the booster programme, ramp up testing and to secure surge capacity for our NHS.
“We are looking down the barrel at a winter of extreme pressure on our NHS and potentially surging levels of Covid.
“We need action from the health secretary to avoid this, not warm words.”
We need action from the health secretary to avoid this, not warm words.”
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane, said: “Humza Yousaf cannot keep talking about winter planning, the NHS is facing these pressures now, and if the vaccine programme isn’t urgently ramped up then our NHS is going to suffer further.
“The booster programme has been hindered by a lack of SNP planning and support for already stretched NHS health boards.
‘Overwhelmed health boards’
“The welcome assistance provided by the armed forces will alleviate pressures in our health service, so vulnerable people will not have to wait longer than necessary to receive their crucial vaccine booster.
“As more overwhelmed health boards urgently signal for support from the armed forces, it is vital that Humza Yousaf provides all the resource they need, to accelerate and get the booster programme on track.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “This is yet another cry for help from overworked NHS staff, who have worked tirelessly in the teeth of the biggest public health crisis in living memory.
“The SNP government have repeatedly failed to offer them the back up they need.”