Covid-19 vaccine programme and how any future lockdowns would be managed in Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

1) The numbers of unvaccinated people in Scotland;

2) The numbers of vaccinated and those that have received a booster;

3) How these numbers impact the health system in terms of those in ICU/hospital that are vaccinated vs unvaccinated;

4) How Scotland intends to embed Covid vaccines into Public Health vaccine programmes in the longer term;

5) In the event of further potential outbreaks/lockdowns in the future, how is it anticipated that travel would be managed between Scotland, other parts of the UK, and Ireland?

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested:

On questions 1, and 3, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because it is not responsible for holding that data. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. However I hope the following is helpful:

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publish a report supporting the surveillance and monitoring of COVID-19 amongst the population which includes case data that can be broken down into subsections such as NHS Board, Local Authority, sex, age group, and JCVI priority cohort: COVID-19 Daily Dashboard | Tableau Public.

There is also the: COVID-19 statistical report - 27 July 2022 - COVID-19 statistical report - Publications - Public Health Scotland

Should it be helpful, here is further information about making a FOI request to PHS: Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) requests - Contact us - Public Health Scotland

Also on question 3, you may want to consider submitting a Freedom of information (FOI) requests | NHS inform to NHS Scotland.

On question 2, this information is publicly available. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy. Public Health Scotland (PHS) publish a report supporting the surveillance and monitoring of COVID-19 amongst the population which includes vaccination data per dose: COVID-19 Daily Dashboard | Tableau Public.

On questions 4 and 5, the Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework assesses where we are in the pandemic and sets out Scotland’s approach to managing COVID-19 and its associated harmseffectively for the long term as  we prepare for a calmer phase of the pandemic. There is no absolute certainty in what lies ahead, but by carefully monitoring the situation and having in place effective contingency plans, we can reduce risk and harm in more proportionate and less restrictive ways: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland's Strategic Framework update - February 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Also on question 5, any future restrictions on travel within the UK would be an issue for the government of that day. This link details Scotland’s current travel policy: Coronavirus in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.