More than 30,000 vaccinations given out so far across north-east

More than 30,000 people across the north-east have already received their first Covid-19 vaccination.

New data released from Public Health Scotland has shown how many people across Scotland have already received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Using both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, health boards will be working their way down the priority list, which began with health care staff and has now moved on to over 80s.

In the NHS Grampian area, there have been 30,240 vaccinations delivered – 12,002 of those in Aberdeen, 6.21% of the population of the city.

Meanwhile, there has been 12,980 so far in Aberdeenshire, or 6.12% of the population, and 5,258 in Moray, 6.6% of the population.

© Kami Thomson / DCT Media

Across Scotland, there has been 309,909 as of yesterday (Wed) who have received their first dose of the vaccine.

The second dose of the vaccine will typically be given out in the 12th week after the first one has taken place.

Caroline Hiscox, chief executive of NHS Grampian, said: “The number of vaccines delivered is continuing to rise and it’s extremely impressive. In fact, we’ve delivered over 30,000 vaccines in Grampian.

“Thank you to everyone who has been involved in delivering this, the logistics involved in delivering this are extremely complex and that’s a huge achievement.”

A north-east resident receiving a coronavirus vaccine.

Meanwhile, eight people in the north-east have been reported to have died with coronavirus in the past 24 hours, according to the latest Scottish Government statistics.

Data from Public Health Scotland shows seven people in the city of Aberdeen and one person in Aberdeenshire died with the virus.

The figures come as 152 new cases were reported in the area served by NHS Grampian yesterday, the third-highest amount for a health board in Scotland today.

The area has seen a further drop in people who are in hospital with Covid-19, from 121 on Tuesday to 114 yesterday.

Across Scotland as a whole, 2,003 people who recently tested positive for the virus are currently in hospital, breaking the 2,000 mark for the first time since the pandemic began.

There were 1,656 new cases recorded around the country, appearing to continue an overall downward trend since the peak in the first week of the new year.

Over the past 24 hours, there were 92 deaths of people who had tested positive for Covid.

Coronavirus in Scotland – track the spread in these charts and maps

However, the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in the north-east has dropped significantly in the last week according to data.

In the week beginning January 4, updated figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed 36 people in NHS Grampian’s area had the virus listed on the death certificate.

In the most recent data to be released, the number of deaths has dropped almost 45%, to 20.

Of the latest deaths, 11 of those were in Aberdeenshire and nine were in the city.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 430 deaths linked to the virus in the region.

Of those 220 were in the city, 187 in Aberdeenshire and 23 in Moray.

The NRS figures are different from those published daily by the Scottish Government as it includes all deaths where Covid-19, including suspected cases, is mentioned on a person’s death certificate.

The latest figures released by the NRS cover up to January 17, and link 7,448 deaths to the virus in Scotland.

Of those, 368 were in the last week – down 23 on the previous week

Two thirds (66%) of the deaths were people aged 75 and over, with the majority of all deaths occurring in hospitals.

The number of deaths recorded during this period is 34% higher than the average for the same seven-days between 2015 and 2019.

Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services, said: “Each statistic represents heartbreak for families and friends across the country.

“Assessing trends in death registrations is difficult at this time of year due to the impact of registration office closures over the Christmas period and the increased registration activity which occurs in the following weeks.  Our analysis looking at deaths by date of occurrence provides a clearer picture of the trend and shows that deaths began to increase in mid-December and this has continued through the early part of January.

“This week’s report provides a provisional estimate of the number of excess deaths for the full year 2020.  Deaths were 11% higher in 2020 than the average of the previous five years, representing the highest level of excess deaths since 1940.”