THE Scottish Tories' criticism of the vaccine rollout in Scotland has been called into question after the UK Government's own website published a graph showing a higher proportion of people in Scotland have had a Covid vaccine than in England.
Statistics show that the percentage of people who have received the first dose of a Covid vaccine in England is 88.2% as of Wednesday, while the percentage who have received a second dose is 71%.
In Scotland, 90.2% of adults have received a Covid vaccine while 70.8% have been given a second dose.
READ MORE: Covid Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon slaps down Douglas Ross in vaccine row
The Scottish Tories have previously criticised the Scottish Government for "lagging behind" the rest of the UK in terms of the vaccine rollout.
The UK Government has added a new map to its coronavirus data page showing percentages of vaccinated adults and it is the ultimate riposte to the Scottish Tories' fake cries of missed targets in Scotland. pic.twitter.com/kMCk9MLmtD
— Derec Thompson (@DerecThompson) July 29, 2021
It comes after opposition parties attacked the Scottish Government for allegedly failing to meet a target to give second doses to 40 to 49-year-olds by Monday, July 26.
Nicola Sturgeon, however, said that the target had in fact been to offer, not administer, the vaccine to everyone in the age group.
She accused opponents of "childish politics" and pointed to the number of no-shows as the reason for the target not being met with 150,000 skipping their second dose.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf also accused opposition parties of creating "mischief" over missed vaccination targets.
The Scottish Conservatives said the issue risked Scotland's plans to ease lockdown but Yousaf praised the rollout, saying he was “confident” of seeing most restrictions ease on August 9.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf hits back at opposition 'mischief' over Scottish Covid vaccine target
An SNP spokesperson said: "Despite ill-informed scare-mongering from some people who should know better, the vaccine programme in Scotland has been, to date, an outstanding success.
"That success is down to the hard work of everyone involved in the rollout and, of course, to the Scottish public for rolling up their sleeves in such overwhelming numbers.
"Each and every one of them is playing a part in literally saving lives.
"But we cannot rest on our laurels and we encourage anyone still to get their first or second doses to do so."
A Scottish Tory spokesperson commented: “Scotland and the UK’s vaccine rollout has been a huge success overall.
"The SNP also did miss a crucial vaccine target recently. Those statements are both true.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel