COVID-19 Vaccination Programme

The COVID-19 vaccine is initially being offered to a number of priority groups in line with the national guidance. The vaccination programme for frontline health, social care, care home staff and care home residents is already underway and vaccination clinics for people aged 80 and over started on Monday 11^th January 2021. Vaccinations are taking place at a number of local GP Practices and community venues highlighted below.

Clinics will take place as part of a rolling programme throughout January and February 2021 so not everyone will receive an appointment letter at the same time. Please do not contact your GP Practice as they will arrange to contact people aged over 80 direct and district nurses will also arrange to vaccinate any people who are housebound.

Vaccination Clinics

Community Venues

People aged over 80 of registered with the following GP practices will be offered an appointment at the following community venues.

*If you are registered with one of the GP practice participating in the community venues and have not received your appointment letter by the dates below please contact our local COVID-19 helpline on 0800 130 3120 (8.30am – 4.30pm).

Please note: Please do not contact your GP practice to request a COVID-19 vaccination as staff will contact eligible patients direct, starting with those ages over 80 as soon as supply are available and appointments can be arranged.

Alloa Town Hall *Over 80s invitation letters by 18th Jan 2021.	Clackmannan and Kincardine Medical Practice Dr Sime & Partners Hallpark Medical Practice, Alloa The Whins Medical Practice
Albert Halls, Stirling *Over 80s invitation letters by 18th Jan 2021.	Airthrey Park Medical Practice Orchard House Health Centre Park Terrace Medical Practice Park Avenue Medical Practice Viewfield Medical Practice
Bo’ness Town Hall *Over 80s invitation letters by 25th Jan 2021.	Forthview Practice Kinglass Medical Practice Richmond Medical Practice
Dobbie Hall, Larbert *Over 80s invitation letters by 21st Jan 2021.	Parkview Medical Practice Stenhouse Medical Practice Tryst Medical Centre Viewpoint Practice
Falkirk Town Hall *Over 80s invitation letters by 18th Jan 2021.	Antonine Medical Practice Ark Medical Practice Bonnybank Medical Practice Denny Cross Medical Practice Graeme Medical Practice Meeks Road Surgery Parkhill Medical Practice Polmont Park Medical Group Wallace Medical Centre Westburn Medical Practice
Grangemouth Town Hall *Over 80s invitation letters by 26th Jan 2021.	Bo’ness Road Medical Practice Kersiebank Medical Practice
Ladywell Church, Bannockburn *Over 80s invitation letters by 11th Jan 2021.	Bannockburn Medical Practice
Victoria Hall, Dunblane *Over 80s invitation letters by 14th Jan 2021.	Dunblane Medical Practice

GP Practices

People registered with the following GP practices, starting with those aged 80 and over, are being offered an appointment at their GP surgery or other local facility.

Please note: Please do not contact your GP practice to request a COVID-19 vaccination as staff will contact eligible patients direct as soon as vaccine supplies are available and appointments can be arranged.

Aberfoyle & Buchlyvie Medical Centres

Allan Park Medical Practice, Stirling

Alva Medical Practice

Balfron Health Centre

Braesview Medical Group, Polmont

Bridge of Allan Health Centre

Callander Medical Practice

Camelon Medical Practice, Falkirk

Carronbank Medical Practice, Denny

Carron Medical Centre, Falkirk

Doune Health Centre

Dollar Health Centre

Drymen Health Centre

Edenkiln Surgery, Strathblane

Fallin Health Centre

Killearn Health Centre

Killin Medical Practice

Kippen Surgery

Ochilview Practice, Stenhousemuir

Slamannan Medical Practice

Tillicoultry Medical Practice

TOR Medical Practice, Plean

The vaccine is administered in two doses at two separate appointments up to 12 weeks apart. It is important that you attend both of your appointments for the vaccine to be fully effective.

If you have an enquiry related to COVID-19 vaccinations, please visit www.nhsinform.scot/covid19vaccine or call our local Covid-19 helpline on 0800 130 3120 (8.30am – 4.30pm 7 days a week). For general information and advice you can also contact the Scottish COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013 (8.00am–8.00pm 7 days a week).

The vaccine is your best protection against coronavirus and NHS Scotland strongly recommends you get the vaccine when offered it.

The following leaflets provide more information about the vaccine and why it is important for people to be immunised.

Your Appointment

Appointment letters are being issued on a phased basis as part of a rolling programme so not everyone will receive their appointments at the same time. If you have queries regarding your appointment or need to change it, please let us know using the form below. Alternatively you can contact the Forth Valley vaccination helpline on 0800 130 3120 ( 8.30am – 4.30pm 7 days a week).

Please note: The helpline and form below should not be used to request a COVID-19 vaccination if you have not been contacted as you must wait until you have received a letter of invitation.

Attending Your Appointment

Strict hygiene and infection control measures are in place at all local COVID-19 vaccination sessions to help keep you safe and protect local NHS staff. Please wear a face covering while travelling to, from and during your appointment and use the alcohol gel provided. To help avoid overcrowding please try to avoid arriving for your appointment early and attend on your own, where possible. You should also wear loose fitting clothes to allow staff to administer the vaccine to your upper arm.

Coronavirus Scams

Please be aware of scams relating to the Coronavirus and Vaccine deployment.

Remember, the NHS will never ask for payment or your bank details, arrive at your home unannounced to administer the vaccine or ask you to prove your identity by sending copies of personal documents such as your passport.

Visit Trading Standards Scotland for more information.

Further Information

Vaccine deployment plan 2021 (Scottish Government, 14th Jan 2021)
Vaccines reach 113,459 people (Scottish Government, 7th Jan 2021)
Letter from the Chief Medical Officer updating on the vaccination programme (1st Jan 2021)
Approval for new COVID-19 vaccine (Scottish Government, 30th Dec 2020)
Statement from the UK Chief Medical Officers on the prioritisation of first doses of COVID-19 vaccines (UK Government, 30th Dec 2020)
First Minister’s statement (Scottish Government, 30th Dec 2020)

Common Questions

Who can get the vaccine in Scotland?

Everyone in Scotland over the age of 18 will be offered a vaccination along with 16 and 17-year olds who have underlying health conditions.

Who will get the COVID-19 first?

Priority groups 1 & 2 – aim to complete first dose by early February 2021

Care home residents and care home staff, health and social care workers, people aged 80 and over

Priority groups 3, 4 & 5 – aim to complete the first dose by end February 2021

People aged 75, 70 and 65 and over

Priority group 6 aim to complete the first dose for cohort 5 by early March 2021

People aged 16 – 64 with underlying health conditions which puts them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality

Priority groups 7, 8, 9 – expect to start early April 2021

People ages 60, 55 and 50 years and over

Once all of the priority groups have been vaccinated arrangements will be made to vaccinate the rest of the population.

You can read the JCVI advice on priority groups here. More information about the vaccination rollout in Scotland can be found here.

Are the vaccines suitable for pregnant women?

Women who are pregnant, or who plan to be pregnant in the next three months, are not being advised to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at this stage. This is due to the limited amount of data available on its use within this group however this advice may change over time as more information becomes available. Find out more.

Who will deliver the COVID-19 Vaccine?

The vaccines will be delivered by wide range of health and social care staff including local immunisations NHS teams, GPs, community nurses and healthcare support workers.

Where will I be able to receive the vaccine?

As the first Pfzier/BioNTech vaccine needs to stored at -70 degrees, initial vaccination clinics will take place at major hospitals and there are also plans to vaccinate care home residents. One additional vaccines are available which can be more easily stored and transported then vaccination clinics will also be able to take place in a wider range of venues including GP Practices and other community venues.

Will I just need one appointment?

No, most Covid-19 vaccines will require two doses, given up to 12 weeks apart and you will be asked to book two appointments. You must attend for your second vaccination on the date arranged in order for the vaccine to be effective.

How long will it take for everyone to be vaccinated?

This depends on a number of factors including vaccine supply, uptake levels and distribution arrangements however everything is being done to roll out the vaccination programme as quickly as possible. All going well, mass vaccination of those who are not in the most vulnerable groups is likely to take place in spring or summer 2021. However, it is important to remember this is the biggest vaccination programme of mass vaccination in the history of the UK.

Should I get my flu jag first?

Yes, after seven days, you’ll be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine, if you are eligible to receive one.

When you say the vaccine is effective, what do you mean?

If we say a vaccine is 80% effective, this indicates an 80% reduction in disease transmission or severity of illness among the vaccinated group when compared to an unvaccinated one in controlled clinical trials.

Will the vaccine stop me being infected?

Each vaccine produces an immune response. That ranges from helping the body fight the infection and minimise its effect, all the way to preventing infection in the first place. The effectiveness of new vaccines is closely monitored and all vaccines continue to develop and evolve in line with ongoing research and development.

How will the vaccine work with other medications?

These vaccines are not live vaccines so it shouldn’t really affect it, but you’ll be asked some questions on the day to make sure that there are no reasons for you not to have the vaccine and you can also speak to your GP if you have any concerns.

What if I have an adverse reaction to the vaccine?

Before any vaccines are used in a national programmes, they need to satisfy strict safety criteria and so far none of the vaccines likely to be used in the UK showed any safety concerns despite being given to thousands of people in the clinical trials. As with all vaccination programmes, there will be trained staff on site, so that in the rare instances where someone has an adverse reaction, help is close at hand.

Do I have to get vaccinated?

No, while it is strongly recommend that those eligible to receive vaccines should do so, vaccination is not mandatory and everyone has a choice. The importance of vaccination is shared by most people in Scotland as we have some of the highest uptake rates in Europe for national vaccination programmes.

Can children get the vaccine?

As none of the vaccines likely to be used in the UK initially have yet been fully tested on children, it is unlikely that any of these vaccines will be licensed for children initially. Any future decisions will be guided by clinical and scientific advice and keep under constant review as new clinical trial data becomes available.

Once we are vaccinated, can we go back to normal?

The priority is to protect the most vulnerable from this virus, driving cases of the virus to the lowest levels possible and effectively eliminating it over time. So in the meantime, and possibly for some time to come, everyone will still need to follow FACTS to protect themselves and others.

Where will you find enough people to vaccinate everyone?

We’ve developed a protocol under the amended Human Medicines Regulations to enable a wider workforce to vaccinate, like community pharmacists, dentists and health and social care support workers.

If I am vaccinated do I still need to wear a face mask?

Yes, everyone will need to continue to follow guidance on the use of face masks, hand santiser and maintain physical distancing to stay safe until virus levels have reduced significantly and the risk of transmission is much lower.

If there is more than one vaccine which will be used?

Yes, a number of vaccines are being developed including the Pfzier/BioNTech vaccine which is the first to be approved for use in the UK. Others are expected to be approved over the coming weeks and months.

Are the vaccines suitable for people with dietary requirements?

Accurate information on each vaccine will be available to allow everyone to make an informed choice.

Can I pay to get vaccinated earlier?

No, the vaccine will only be provided by NHS Scotland free of charge.

Will I need to prove that I have been vaccinated for any reason, if so how?

The Scottish Government has no plans to ask anyone to prove they have received a vaccine. As with other vaccinations, your medical records will be updated.