First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed today that people from today, people in the 70-79 age group will start to receive invitations to their first vaccination jag - and they will come in white NHS envelopes, not blue.
Over the weekend conflicting reports of blue envelopes were made, but Ms Sturgeon confirmed today that the invite will arrive in a white envelope with the NHS logo on the right hand side.
She added that those in the 80s age group will not receive these letters, as they will be contacted directly either by letter or telephone by their GP to make an appointment.
Scotland is on track to have everyone over the age of 70 vaccinated by February, the First Minister added.
Ms Sturgeon said: "It's in your interests, and obviously, everybody else's interests, for you to accept the appointment and get vaccinated as soon as possible."
"Today therefore marks a further important milestone in a vaccination programme which is making good progress and we remain on track to vaccinate everybody who is over the age of 70 by the middle of February."
Ms Sturgeon also reminded viewers that while it is in the collective interests to get their vaccine, it doesn't mean that those who are vaccinated should stop adhering to the lockdown guidelines and restrictions.
She said: "But if you're in the 70 to 79 age group, make sure you look out for one of these letters. I want to add a reminder to everyone that, once you've received the first dose, while it will be a relief, I'm sure, to you, it doesn't start protecting you immediately.
"That's a really important point to get across. The first dose will reduce your chances of becoming ill from Covid after around two weeks. Even then, we don't yet know, the scientific community doesn't yet know whether it will stop you passing Covid on to other people.
"So for both of those reasons, it's very important for you still to stick to the current rules and guidelines, even after you receive your first vaccination dose.
"Getting the jag will bring a justified sense of relief to many people, but it is really important for now to remember that it doesn't mean you should stop sticking to the other advice about avoiding getting or passing on Covid."
A total of 752 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland in the past 24 hours. The total figure of positive cases is 172,953
There are 2,016 people in hospital with coronavirus, 6 more than yesterday. 151 people are now in intensive care, 6 fewer than yesterday. The First Minister says there are grounds for ‘cautious optimism’.
Four additional deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours. This is expected to be due to closed registry offices at the weekend. 81 new deaths have been recorded since the last briefing on Friday. This brings the total number of covid deaths in Scotland to 5,709.
