The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age. Additionally the committee considers frontline health and social care workers who provide direct care to vulnerable people a high priority for vaccination.

The JCVI priority lists represents 99% of the preventable mortality from COVID-19 and throughout the delivery of the vaccination programme we will be guided by the clinical expertise of the JCVI, the MHRA, and our own senior clinical advisers.

The Scottish Government is working with the sector to explore what measures can be put in place to support the physical and mental wellbeing of international students who are subject to managed isolation arrangements.

In relation to their financial wellbeing, international and EU students can now apply for financial hardship support from the £22m HE Coronavirus Discretionary Fund and £3m FE Coronavirus Discretionary Fund, which were allocated to the universities and colleges in February. Institutions' assessments and awards are based on the individual circumstances involved, however the eligible scenarios can include costs associated with travel to / from Scotland if a) their travel is essential and in line with current travel restrictions/ exemptions; and b) they are in financial hardship and can demonstrate this through the institution's hardship assessment process.

The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age. Additionally the committee considers frontline health and social care workers who provide direct care to vulnerable people a high priority for vaccination.

The JCVI priority lists represents 99% of the preventable mortality from COVID-19 and throughout the delivery of the vaccination programme we will be guided by the clinical expertise of the JCVI, the MHRA, and our own senior clinical advisers.

The challenges around completion of coursework and assessment for practical subjects are recognised, which is why a limited return of senior phase learners and students to progress practical work that cannot be undertaken remotely and which is critical to qualification completion was prioritised.

Under the revised Strategic Framework, universities and colleges can continue to bring back a small number of students where face-to-face teaching is critical. The vast majority of learning will continue to be online, with the number of students on campus to be kept as low as possible and no more than 5% at any one time for in-person teaching. Any further return to face-to-face teaching in colleges and universities will be kept under regular review, with decisions informed by the data on virus prevalence.

The First Minister has confirmed that a phased return to secondary school will begin from 15 March. Colleges will be able to prioritise the return of further senior phase school pupils studying at college who require in-person provision now in order to complete their course.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting pupils and students to complete their learner journeys and is working closely with all relevant partners to provide solutions to challenges in delivering practical learning as a matter of priority.

Under current lockdown restrictions, the Strategic Framework allows for community centres to open where they are required to facilitate the provision of essential services such as the co-ordination of food parcels or medical supplies.

It is anticipated that , when the data allows, there will be a return to the full, locally differentiated, levels approach that recognises the different levels of prevalence in different areas. Whether community centres can fully reopen will be dependent on the particular level of the local authority and community centre operators must decide whether services are able to operate safely within the guidelines for relevant activities. Decisions on whether to open and what services can be provided, as well as how to meet any compliance requirements is the responsibility of the management of a centre taken at a local level.

Some wastage is unavoidable for a variety of reasons based on the characteristics of the vaccine, logistical issues with cold chain supply, storage failure and/or specific clinical situations such as a breakout of COVID-19 in a care home.

To date, our latest management information indicates a wastage rate of around only 1.8% - well below our planning assumption of 5%, which is a precautionary approach for worst case scenarios and in line with global best practice.

Any wastage is reviewed to ensure any preventable loss is avoided in the future.

We will continue to monitor wastage rates and regularly report back.

We continue to engage in international developments in relation to Coronavirus (COVID-19), including on the issue of vaccine certification.

These discussions are led by the World Health Organisation and include consideration of technical details, ethical and equality issues, and privacy standards. The outcome of those discussions will guide our work in this area.

All vaccinations information is held on an individual’s medical records.

The Scottish Government published an update to the strategic framework on 23 February 2021. The updated framework sets out our plans and conditions for easing restrictions within level 4 before returning to different protection levels in different parts of the country from the end of April.

The First Minister said in Parliament that she hoped weddings would be able to take place with greater numbers of people in the period after the end of April, but that the numbers will likely still be restricted.

We will set out more detail in mid-March on the indicators that will guide our decisions on protection levels, as well as on any revision to the content of each level.

The latest evidence and public health advice, including evidence of the impact on transmission from the initial phase of school return and vaccination, as well as progress on vaccinating more of the priority groups, will inform our next steps.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of marriage and civil partnership to couples and to society more widely, and we appreciate the difficulties caused by the restrictions in place. We will continue to keep the restrictions under close review and are committed to not keeping the restrictions in place any longer than is absolutely necessary.

The Scottish Government does not plan to reimburse the travel costs of people who are unable to access public transport to attend their COVID-19 vaccination appointment. We are working with the voluntary and third sector to set up a centralised volunteer coordination hub to make good use of the locally offered support, and in particular for deployment at mass vaccination clinics and to help people who need assistance to access local clinics.

The focus of the national booking system is to ensure that all patients are able to attend an appointment as quickly as possible. Every effort has been made to minimise travel time where possible, but this may be impacted by individual circumstance such as the availability of transport.

Some vaccinations do need to be in larger centres to make use of the Pfizer vaccine which comes in bigger batches than AstraZeneca. The national booking line is in place for rescheduling appointments if the one offered is inappropriate or the patient is unable to attend. Booking line details are provided on every patient appointment letter.

The Scottish Government has emphasised to all Health Board Chief Executives, highlighting the importance of resourcing the Covid-19 vaccination service, including ensuring individuals contacting them for an appointment are offered alternative options for those who are clinically vulnerable and house bound.

I have made it clear in her recent correspondence to all the Health Boards and professionals that individuals who are unable to leave their own homes will receive their vaccination at home.

All Health Boards have included their housebound patients within their delivery models for each priority group, for example we have had confirmation that those aged 80 and over living in the community who are housebound have received their vaccination, with only small gaps for reasons such as illness or non-consent.

Staff at symptomatic test sites are now included as part of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) criteria cohort 2 and this is being communicated via a letter from the Chief Medical Officer which will be issued shortly.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI.