People aged between 45 and 49 are now being invited to receive their first Covid-19 vaccination.

Appointment letters have started to be sent out by NHS Scotland to people in this age range and in Forth Valley vaccinations will continue to be delivered in a number of community hubs, including the Stirling, Falkirk and Alloa campuses of Forth Valley College. The move follows the successful delivery of vaccine programme to people in all nine priority groups which was completed in Forth Valley ahead of the national mid-April 2021 target.

More than 157,000 people across Forth Valley have now received their first Covid-19 vaccine (just over 61%) and more than 54,000 have received their second doses (just over 21%). Work is also under way to contact and arrange appointments for anyone in the priority groups who may have been missed or were unable to attend their appointment earlier this year.

It is important to get two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to provide longer-term protection and significantly reduce the chances of becoming seriously unwell. Everyone who has received their first vaccination should automatically be contacted with details of their second appointment within 12 weeks. However, anyone who hasn’t received details of their second vaccination appointment at 11 weeks should contact NHS Forth Valley’s Covid-19 vaccination helpline by emailing fv.c19publicenquiries@nhs.scot or call 0800 130 3120.

Jillian Taylor, Operational Lead for NHS Forth Valley’s Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, said: “We are now moving forward to vaccinate people aged under 50s, starting with the 45-49 age group, then moving downwards to eventually encompass all adults over the age of 18 with a target date of 31^st July 2021, subject to vaccine supplies.

“We have had a fantastic uptake from local people in the first nine priority groups and we would like to thank everyone who has come forward for vaccination over the last few months. The effects are already being seen with a fall in the number of positive cases and the number of people requiring treatment in our hospitals for Covid-19.

“We would ask people to be patient as we continue to work through the remaining groups and to remember to continue to follow the national guidance even after you have been vaccinated as it’s not yet known whether this prevents you from catching the virus or passing it to other people.”