Care home residents and staff will begin to receive the Covid vaccine from Pfizer on Monday. 

The rollout was labelled an "important moment" in the fight against coronavirus by the health secretary.

It comes just one week after the jab was administered to NHS staff starting December 8. 

More than 5,000 vaccinators and other key NHS staff received their first dose. 

People in care homes are considered to be the highest priority group identified by a UK-wide committee.

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Jeane Freeman said: “This is another important moment in our journey through the coronavirus pandemic and I am delighted that we have received the authorisation we need to enable us to vaccinate the most vulnerable people in our care homes.

“Officials in the government and our health boards, along with Pfizer, and the MHRA, have worked really hard to allow this to happen and it is another step on the road to our collective recovery and a return to a more normal way of life.

“We are providing the vaccine to people in care homes according to the order of priority set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and we will work through that order of priority as quickly as vaccine supply allows.”

There are 23 sites across Scotland which will act as vaccination hubs for priority groups. 

Ms Freeman added: “We are hopeful that subject to further stringent approvals, other vaccines may meet MHRA approval for supply – for example, AstraZeneca and Moderna – enabling more vaccinations to take place at a faster rate.

“In the meantime it remains vital that we all stick to the published restrictions and follow public advice to keep suppressing the virus to as low a level as possible.”