Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning, Professor Leitch and cabinet secretary. I have various queries on subjects that keep popping up as we go through the meeting. Please wait two seconds while I write this final point down. [Laughter.]

People who have had Covid might have some natural immunity, but they do not have immunity for the time that vaccination provides. I am emphasising the point that you made: despite a person’s having had Covid, it is essential that they get vaccinated to help to protect society as a whole.

Thank you.

Okay.

I am pressing you on the issue because numerous constituents have said to me that they have had the virus and do not want to get vaccinated, because it is a disgrace and an impingement on their human rights. That is why I needed the scientific assessment for why we ask people who have had Covid to get vaccinated.

I will return to Alex Rowley’s point. We are hearing concerns about older people not getting their booster jags in the same way as they were vaccinated before. Previously, the vaccination programme went out to the community, but that is not happening now. I do not know whether you can answer on a local basis with regard to Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, where we have people having to travel what they consider to be huge distances to get a booster jag, whereas previously they went to their GP surgery or wherever. I assume that the answer will be the same, which is that the booster programme is a much bigger programme that is to be delivered in a shorter time, so we are doing the best we can.

I am sorry, minister—I did not even read your name card.

I return to the one of the first points that the convener raised, which was from a question that a member of the public had asked. If someone has had Covid in the past, why does that not show up and allow them to travel? Are you scientifically confident that having had Covid gives a person the same level of immunity as vaccination? When someone has had Covid, for how long are they immune?

We are still getting inquiries from people who had their first vaccination somewhere else in the UK and are getting their second one in Scotland. Are we any closer to a solution for that issue?

To go back to the issue of groups that have a natural tendency to not want to be vaccinated, we have spoken in the committee about the fact that a good chunk of those groups will not necessarily go to the football or whatever. We have regularly discussed the messaging that is being targeted at those groups. Will that messaging increase uptake of the vaccine, so that we know that the messaging is getting through?

We are now getting a good response from the younger generation, but do you have any figures that show that the introduction of vaccination passports has increased vaccine uptake? Moreover, although I am delighted to hear that you are working with ethnic communities to address vaccine hesitancy, is any monitoring and measuring being done to show whether that messaging, as it is being developed, is increasing uptake, why there was hesitancy in the first place and whether we are overcoming it?

On the issue of misinformation, people are entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts. Do we need legislation to stop people putting out information that is factually incorrect and dangerous to public health?