Coronavirus in Scotland: Half of Scotland's population receive vaccine as First Minister praises ‘phenomenal progress’

Half of the population in Scotland has received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Patient receives the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, administered by Practice Nurse Ruth Davies, at Pentlands Medical Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.

A total of 2,733,387 people have now received their first jab according to the latest Scottish Government figures, with the country’s population currently standing at about 5.4 million.

It marks an increase of 11,303 from the previous day while 715,714 people have had both doses, with this figure up by 26,953 from Friday’s total.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who received her first dose of the AstraZeneca jab on Thursday, praised those involved in the vaccination programme describing the moment as a sign of “phenomenal progress.”

She added: “We have met our targets to offer first doses to all nine priority groups, those most at risk from Covid, by the middle of April and are well into the delivery of second doses to those groups.

“I want to pay a huge tribute to everyone who has contributed to the success of this programme, from the scientists and those who volunteered for clinical trials to the volunteer vaccinators and of course the 2.7 million people across Scotland who have rolled up their sleeves.”

The news comes as Scotland recorded two more deaths and a further 210 cases of the virus.

To date, 109 people are in hospital having tested positive for the virus which is down six from the previous day’s total and the number of patients requiring intensive care has reached 18, an increase of two from the day before.

A total of 7,642 people in Scotland have now died within 28 days of testing positive for the disease.

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