Scots aged 30-39 will be able to book an appointment for their covid booster shot from Monday, it has been announced.
It follows a decision by the UK Government to make the jabs available to those in the same age range in England.
Almost half of all adults in Scotland have already received a third dose of a coronavirus vaccine and ministers aim to open booking for all those aged 18 and over by the end of the week.
It comes as concerns grow over the transmissibility of the Omicron variant of covid, which is soon expected to become the dominant strain of the virus.
The UK Covid alert level was today raised following a rapid increase in Omicron cases being recorded.
Health secretary Humza Yousaf urged all Scots aged 30-39 to book an appointmet for their booster via the NHS Inform online portal, which requires an NHS user name.
Writing on Twitter, Yousaf said: “From tomorrow (December 13) you can book your Booster if you’re aged 30-39.
“We intend on opening portal to 18-29yr olds later in the week, details to follow.
“We know just how important a tool vaccination, and in particular the Booster is in our fight against the virus.”
He added: “A reminder, to be eligible 12 weeks must have elapsed between your 2nd dose and Booster.
Meanwhile, the chief medical officers of the four UK nations have issued a joint statement that says the emergence of Omicron “adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and healthcare services”.
They added: “Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced.
“Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly.”
The five officials, including England’s CMO Professor Chris Whitty, Northern Ireland’s Sir Michael McBride, Scotland’s Professor Gregor Smith, and Wales’ Dr Frank Atherton, said the NHS was already under pressure “mainly driven by non-Covid pressures”, with Omicron’s ability to escape vaccines “likely” to add to those demands.
“It is extremely important that if you are eligible, you get your Covid vaccination now – whether this be your first, second or booster dose,” they said.
“People should continue to take sensible precautions including ventilating rooms, using face coverings, testing regularly and isolating when symptomatic.”
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