Scotland is on course to meet its target to vaccinate all care home residents against Covid-19 by the first week of February.
Around 96 per cent of care home residents have received the first dose of the vaccine, according to Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman (pictured).
Scotland aims to vaccinate care home residents, NHS staff and over-80s by the first week of February.
Freeman said the Scottish government is “well on track” to hit its vaccination target for care home residents “early next week”.
In Wales, meanwhile, around 73 per cent of care home residents have been given a first dose of a Covid vaccine.
In addition, nearly 27,500 care home staff – around 77 per cent of the total - have received a vaccine dose.
In England, prisons minister Lucy Frazer said 75 per cent of care home residents have been vaccinated.
The government’s target is to offer a first dose of the Covid vaccine to all care home residents in England by 31 January.
In a related development, apprenticeships minister Gillian Keegan has admitted official guidance that allowed hospital patients to be discharged into care homes without a Covid test was an error.
Asked by the host of BBC’s Question Time, Fiona Bruce, if the guidance was wrong, Keegan said: "If people went back into their care home without being tested, and that created – which I’m sure there are some examples of that – then of course that’s a catastrophic mistake."
