Borders kids in vaccine drive

The Borders has the third-highest take-up for vaccinations in children aged five-11 in Scotland.

New figures released by Public Health Scotland showed that up to April 28, 1,776 children aged five-11 have been vaccinated against the virus, which equates to 20.4% of the 8.697 children eligible under the scheme.

While that percentage doesn’t seem that high, only East Refrewshire (22.8%) and East Dunbartonshire (23.7%) have jabbed more children in that age bracket.

Some areas have a very low take-up … Highland has only vaccinated 636 children (3.6% of its 17,468 eligible children).

The Scottish Government sees the vaccination of children as a very important step in beating the virus.

A spokesperson said: “Appointments for first doses of a Covid-19 vaccination for all five- to 11-year-olds have been scheduled from March 19, with older children invited first and families invited together wherever possible.

“Scotland has one of the highest uptake rates for vaccination anywhere in the world and vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of our battle against Covid-19. The very high vaccination rates achieved so far have helped us considerably on our path back to normality and we urge everyone to take up their invitation when it is offered.

“To encourage uptake, we have produced a number of resources including a leaflet providing key information and for parents and carers and a marketing campaign giving tailored information about vaccines for children.”