Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to be rolled out across Scotland from next week

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out across Scotland from Monday.

It's after the announcement earlier today that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the vaccine for use in the UK.

100 million doses of the vaccine have been ordered by the UK Government, with Scotland getting more than 8% of that amount based on its population.

The Scottish Government says the priority now is for as many people as possible to be vaccinated "as quickly as possible", while working through the phase 1 priority list.

It's the second Covid-19 vaccine to get approval in the UK after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was given the green light earlier this month.

Two doses of the vaccine will be needed per person being vaccinated, but there is a difference on the length of time between each dose for the two approved coronavirus vaccines.

The advice is that the second dose for the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine can be given up to 12 weeks after the first.

For the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, there is a three week gap between both doses.

At Holyrood this afternoon, Ms Sturgeon confirmed that as of Sunday, more than 92,000 people had received their first shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

But she also warned the need for restrictions to become tighter than those in level four couldn't be ruled out.

At the moment, all of mainland Scotland is under that tier and has been since Boxing Day for at least three weeks to try and limit the spread of a new variant of the virus.

Ms Sturgeon said at the Scottish Parliament: "We simply cannot rule out the need for restrictions that are even tighter than those in the current level four.

"We continue to assess the situation carefully, indeed on a daily basis.

"We will keep parliament updated should any changes be required over the remainder of the festive period."

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government's Health Secretary has hailed the news of the MHRA's approval of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as "a truly excellent piece of news".

Jeane Freeman said: "Oxford AstraZeneca has the major advantage of being much easier to store and transport, which means it is easier to administer in local settings.

"We are also expecting to receive it in significantly larger quantities than the Pfizer vaccine."

On finding a way out of the pandemic, she also said: "When it is your turn to be vaccinated you will be contacted by your local health board and I urge you to please take up the offer.

"Vaccination is one of the most important tools we have as we work our way out of this pandemic. 

"But as we vaccinate as many people as quickly as supplies allow, we have a new more transmissible strain of Covid-19. 

"That makes it vital that we all continue our work to suppress the virus in Scotland, rigorously complying with the restrictions where we live and making sure we continue to wear face coverings, maintain a 2 metre distance from others outside our own household and wash our hands regularly."