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Nicola Sturgeon says decision on Covid vaccines for 12-15 year olds expected within days

Nicola Sturgeon has warned Scotland is still experiencing a surge in cases as she said the decision on vaccines for young people aged 12-15 was expected within days.

Whilst the UK’s vaccines body had decided not the recommend the rollout of the Covid jab to the younger age group.

The Scottish Government has asked the chief medical officer to make a final decision.

Nicola Sturgeon said the government’s decision would include wider considerations than the JCVI, such as the impact of future school closures.

“The four UK governments have asked our chief medical officers to undertake a rapid assessment of the latest evidence and provide advice on wider benefits.

Government ready to act on vaccine advice

“We expect to receive this advice soon, I hope within days. The Scottish Government stands ready to act in accordance with any recommendations.”

Nicola Sturgeon also said the latest data indicated the spread of the virus was slowing down, with the increase in infection rates falling by over 60%.

“It appears that the rate on increase has slowed,” Nicola Sturgeon said, but encouraged people to stick to the rules.

“Cases are still rising, and they are currently at their highest level since the start of the pandemic,” she cautioned.

Covid cases and deaths still increasing in Scotland

Ms Sturgeon’s update came as 5,810 new coronavirus cases were announced in Scotland, a slight decrease on the higher numbers reported daily last week.

The test positivity rate is now 10.8%, down from the figure of over 14% reported on several days in the previous week.

The government also confirmed that 883 people are receiving treatment in hospital for the virus, up 78 on Tuesday’s figure. 82 people are in intensive care, up five in the last 24 hours.

Tayside and Fife accounted for 666 of the new cases in Scotland, including 119 in Dundee and 426 in Fife.

Perth and Kinross saw its case tally increase by 67, whilst Angus had an extra 54 cases identified.

The death toll across Scotland increased by 17 amongst people who had recently tested positive for the virus.

A total of 10,612 people have died in Scotland with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, according to the latest data from the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

Coronavirus was involved in 58 fatalities in the week from August 30 to September 5 – an increase of 10 on the previous week.

Of the latest deaths, 17 people were aged under 65, 12 were aged 65-74, and 29 were 75 or older.

It also showed 42 people died in hospital, eight in care homes and seven at home.