Covid fears at COP26 as 38,000 people in Glasgow not fully jagged

The figures published by ­Holyrood’s research unit found 11% of those eligible in the city had not been ­double jagged by the end of last month. With its adult population around 344,000, this means around 38,000 have not received two doses of the vaccine.

Aberdeen has the second worst rate (with 10% not fully jagged) of all 23 local authority areas while Dundee and Edinburgh follow with 9% still not double vaccinated.

The Glasgow suburbs of East Dunbartonshire and East ­Renfrewshire have the highest ­vaccine rates with 96% and 94% of their population ­having received two jags.

The statistics coincide with 25,000 delegates from around the world ­descending on Glasgow this week for the UN’s COP26 conference, while 100,000 environmental activists are due to march from Kelvingrove Park to Glasgow Green for a ­demonstration on Saturday.

Medical and public health experts last night said COP26 was increasing the public health risk.

Covid vaccines have been shown to help stop the spread of the virus, meaning that in areas where fewer people have been jagged there is a higher chance of infections surging.

“For months, it has been blindly ­obvious to the average Glasgow ­citizen that bringing large numbers of people from outside the city into the city, or any other city for that matter, during a pandemic would increase risks,” said Professor Andrew Watterson (below), a ­public health expert at Stirling University.

“This would include English police and ­security staff as well ­demonstrators this ­weekend. The risks will then be higher when a lower ­percentage of the population have been

double vaccinated or ­received boosters so yes, it is a real concern that Glasgow city inhabitants most at risk will have that risk increased by all activities ­associated with and around the COP26 event from those visiting the city from outside Scotland.”​

Professor Rowland Kao of ­Edinburgh University said any new COP26 spike would start to hit ­Glasgow in the coming days but that the full impact of the conference on infection rates would probably be seen in the third week of November.

“You may start to see the first round of infections in five days to a week, but you won’t really seen the effect for another week or two ­afterwards,” he said.

“You could see an immediate surge because of contacts increasing, new surges of infection from outside could happen quickly. But in terms of the longer term effect you have to see how much transmission is taking place in Glasgow and within ­Scotland more generally.

“It’s not just Glasgow. A lot of ­people will be staying outside ­Glasgow and moving back and forth.”

He added: “There is also the ­concern about variants and whether new variants could be spread by more people coming into ­Glasgow. It’s a ­possibility. There is ­nothing of ­particular ­concern right now other than the ­variants we already know of, the variant of the ­Delta variant.”

Scottish Government ministers have warned COP26 does pose a risk but have tried to assure Scots that measures are in place to hold the conference safely.

The UN, which runs COP26, ­requires participants inside the SEC to wear masks in bid to prevent the spread of any infection.

However, some delegates ­including the Prime Minister Boris Johnson were pictured this week without face coverings.

Only a few of the hundreds of VIPs attending a reception at Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow on Monday evening were wearing face masks.

The statistics, which account for the period until October 30, were compiled by the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre and published for MSPs meeting yesterday at Holyrood’s Covid Recovery committee.

Watterson told The National that lower vaccine take up rate had been linked to poverty and cultural issues.

“We already know various groups where Covid vaccine hesitancy, ­vaccine reluctance and vaccine ­access may mean lower vaccination rates linked to socio-economic ­deprivation and ethnicity and so on,” he said.​

“Glasgow City will contain many of these groups, probably more than many other areas of Scotland. So too do cities like Aberdeen and Dundee which also are close to the bottom of the vaccinated league table. So we would expect Glasgow City to be at or the bottom of the list.”

A Scottish Government ­spokeswoman said: “Ensuring ­Scotland’s vaccination programme is inclusive is a priority, and we are ­committed to offering a vaccine to everyone in Scotland. We are ­working to address vaccine hesitancy to ­improve uptake.

“We use insight and evidence to ­address the concerns of the vaccine hesitant. Following on from our Roll Up Your Sleeves national ­marketing campaign encouraging ­­vaccine ­uptake, we addressed these people specifically with targeted media and shared assets with health board ­colleagues and the many stakeholder groups that represent the interests of vaccine hesitant groups.

“All NHS Boards have dedicated ­inclusion plans within the ­vaccination programme, outlining how they will actively offer vaccination to people who may face barriers in taking up the vaccine.

“Some examples of outreach ­include offering vaccinations in ­places of ­worship, in other ­community ­settings, providing concessionary bus travel to appointments and working with ­community leaders to promote uptake.

“Campaign activity included radio and digital that ran July-August 2021, including a Covid-19 explainer film that specifically addressed concerns including safety, efficacy, religion, pregnancy and fertility.”