NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been contacting 18-39 year-olds in Glasgow neighbourhoods worst affected by the new Covid-19 variant to offer vaccination appointments.
People in those age groups are being urged to get vaccinated amid a spike in infections and fears over how quickly the Indian variant of the virus might spread.
NHSGGC will also bring forward second doses for those aged 50 and over in worst hit areas of the city, most of which are in the south side.
Appointments for vaccinations will be available from this week onwards.
Full list of areas being targeted:
- Battlefield
- Gorbals and Hutchesontown
- Govanhill, Aikenhead
- Kingston West and Dumbreck
- Maxwell Park
- Mosspark
- Pollokshields
- Strathbungo
This includes: G41, G42, G5, G51, G52.
But how do you get the vaccine if you're an 18-39 year-old living in one of these areas?
NHSGCC say they are contacting everyone who falls in that category by text or email, encouraging people to get an appointment. Some people have already been contacted, with appointments being made available from this week.
Making the announcement on Monday afternoon, NHSGGC said: "We are making vaccination appointments available to people aged 18-39 for those living in the affected areas of Glasgow City. It is likely that these appointments will be available from this week onwards and we would encourage people in the local communities who are eligible for a vaccination to have it.
"NHSGGC is currently finalising plans to bring forward second doses for those people aged 50 and over in the affected areas of Glasgow City. This is in line with JCVI guidelines of administering a second dose between 8-12 weeks after the first.
"We would strongly encourage members of the public, particularly those living in the most affected areas of Glasgow, to visit their local asymptomatic testing centre and take a COVID-19 test. This will determine whether members of the public have the virus even if they do not have any symptoms.
"We have made lateral flow home test kits available at all of our test centres, so that people can undertake regular testing at home and we are reviewing options for PCR kits to be made more readily available. People can also order self-use LFD test kits for home delivery via the Scottish Government Universal Testing Offer ( https://test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/order-lateral-flow-kits/ ).
"For people who do have the virus and need to self-isolate, support is available, including a £500 self-isolation support grant for low income workers. People who do not have family or community support can also call the National Assistance Helpline on 0800 111 4000, or contact via textphone on 0800 111 4114.
"We are actively pursuing ways to ensure vaccination uptake is as high as possible in the areas with the largest increases of cases. This will include encouraging and supporting people who previously opted not to receive their vaccination to arrange an appointment. We will be contacting these individuals directly and offering them appointments in the coming weeks.
"We would like to encourage all residents of Greater Glasgow and Clyde to continue to follow Scottish Government guidelines, take your vaccination when offered and make use of our asymptomatic testing facilities to ensure if you unknowingly have the virus, you can then self-isolate and help to stop the spread."
On Monday, when asked about lifting restrictions earlier in Moray and on the current situation in Glasgow, John Swinney commented: "I doubt it could come earlier but we will certainly review it as we promised we would do in the course of this week and we'll continue to look at other situations around the country.
"The last thing we want to do is to have local authority areas going in and out of restrictions like a yo-yo, that's the worst of all possible models for the business community and the wider community.
"Obviously we're still facing quite an acute problem in Glasgow, we've got a great deal of testing infrastructure that's been deployed."
