Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 03 February 2021
I thank hard-working NHS staff who are doing all they can to keep us safe and protected during these unparalleled times. Now that the vaccination programme is under way they are once again working tirelessly to ensure that our population is protected.
The Scottish Greens are right to state that an effective test, trace and isolate regime will be needed now and in the future, particularly as we attempt to deal with the emergence of worrying new variants of the virus—a point made by Mark Ruskell. Donald Cameron also highlighted the mental health impacts with which many of our communities are struggling at this time.
The proactive provision of support will be needed if we are to reach our most vulnerable people and enable them to comply with self-isolation rules—a point well made by Shirley-Anne Somerville and Pauline McNeill. Ms McNeill also raised the issue that the app should be upgraded to improve access to support through it.
Scottish Conservatives believe that support should be offered proactively to all those who need it, including those on low incomes. However, we cannot agree that it should be offered universally. Many people, including all members in the chamber, would not see any loss of income as a result of either self-isolating or taking time off work following a positive test result. It would be far more effective to provide a comprehensive support scheme targeted towards those who need it, rather than a blanket approach that would cover everyone including those who do not need any support from the state to enable them to self-isolate.
Many members, including my colleague Rachael Hamilton as well as Alex Cole-Hamilton, mentioned the vaccination programme. I agree that an effective test, trace and isolate regime would complement the vaccine programme. In the past 24 hours we have started to hear positive news about the Oxford vaccine, in that a person’s ability to transmit the virus could be substantially reduced from 22 days after they receive their first jab. That is further evidence that the vaccination programme is our route out of the crisis and will be the most effective way to significantly reduce the number of people who are required to self-isolate.
More than ever, it is imperative that the SNP handles the vaccine roll-out successfully. I will be clear: I desperately want the Scottish Government to succeed in the vaccine roll-out. However, no degree of SNP spin can compensate for its mishandling of the programme. The fact is that hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses that are allocated to Scotland are sitting in storage, and no degree of SNP spin can explain why we have fallen so far behind the rest of the UK when it comes to administering the vaccine.
All four nations have equal access based on population share. There is no excuse. Last week, 2.4 million first doses of the vaccine were administered. Only 145,000 of those were in Scotland. Based on population share, that figure should have been 200,000.
Supporting all those who need support to self-isolate is critical. However, fixing the vaccine roll-out programme is the surest and fastest way to protect the most vulnerable in our society.
16:20