Care home residents in East Renfrewshire are now receiving their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) was one of the first in Scotland to complete the care home programme for the first dose of the vaccine – and the team insists it is just as committed to delivering this second phase as quickly as possible.

Deirdre McCormick, chief nurse at East Renfrewshire HSCP, said: “I have been blown away by the commitment and hard work of our nurses and support staff to deliver the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

"Their dedication has been exceptional and many of our nurses have volunteered to work longer hours and weekends, on top of their usual role, to help us vaccinate and protect care home residents as quickly as possible.

“We started the care home second dose programme last week and are aiming to have this complete next week.”

The HSCP is also in the final stages of providing the first dose of the vaccine to housebound residents aged 75 and over, while local GPs are treating all other residents in that age group, as well as residents who are shielding.

The community nursing team will shortly be contacting housebound shielding residents, as they will be the next priority.

Residents are reminded that, even if they have received their first or second dose of the vaccine, this is just one tool in the fight against Covid-19 and they can help to keep East Renfrewshire safe by adhering to lockdown restrictions, wearing face coverings in enclosed spaces, avoiding crowded places, cleaning their hands regularly, maintaining two-metre social distancing and self-isolating and booking a test if they have symptoms.