By creator to www.inverness-courier.co.uk
North politician Edward Mountain has welcomed Nicola Sturgeon’s response to his plea for transplant sufferers to be prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP highlighted the problem throughout constituency questions with the First Minister, and requested her to lift it with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which advises the UK well being departments.
Ms Sturgeon mentioned that she would anticipate transplant sufferers to be prioritised by the JCVI and that Scotland’s well being secretary Jeane Freeman would examine the matter.
“I do know lots of joint work has gone into figuring out the precedence for vaccine supply,” Mr Mountain advised Ms Sturgeon. “Organ donation which results in a transplant is likely one of the best presents that may be given, and certainly acquired.
“I’ve had constituents contact me who’re at present on the transplant record however aren’t prioritised for receipt of the Covid vaccine. I consider there’s medical and public help for making certain these awaiting a transplant are given the perfect likelihood of being Covid-free when they’re finally known as in.
“Will you ask your advisers to urgently increase with the JCVI whether or not transplant sufferers ought to be prioritised for the Covid vaccine?”
Ms Sturgeon replied: “I definitely will think about this correctly and if that requires us to interact extra with the JCVI we will definitely do this.”
She added: “Firstly, I utterly agree with the significance of selling organ donation – it’s the best present that anybody can provide, and after I was well being secretary I spent lots of time working with clinicians and others to lift consciousness of and improve the charges of organ donation.
“I do know it’s one thing that each one well being secretaries who’ve come after me have taken very severely as nicely.
“The second level, although, is extra pertinent to the specifics of the query. What are known as the ‘clinically extraordinarily weak’ are a precedence within the first JCVI record – I believe it’s precedence 4.
“I, as a non-clinician, would anticipate that many, if not all, transplant sufferers could be included inside that… I’ll talk about with advisers and whether or not we have to handle that time in another method. I’ll ask the well being secretary to put in writing to the member as soon as we’ve had a chance to contemplate it.”
Talking later, Mr Mountain mentioned: “I welcome that the First Minister will think about this difficulty and I look ahead to receiving a solution from the well being secretary.
“I might be completely satisfied to attend barely longer for my vaccine if it meant {that a} transplant affected person didn’t miss out on an organ donation and I’ve written to the cupboard secretary on these phrases.”
