Scots could be given different covid vaccine to protect against 'multiple variants' in future

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots may be given different covid vaccines if new variants emerge in the future, according to a leading health expert. Linda Bauld, professor in public health at the University of Edinburgh and adviser to the Scottish Government, said there were signs the protection from coronavirus was starting to wane in the population.

From today, businesses such as bars and restaurants are no longer required to retain customer contact details. The legal requirement for businesses, places of worship and others to "take reasonably practicable measures" set out in Scottish Government coronavirus guidance is also being ended.

The move comes in the wake of figures from the Office for National Statistics showing levels of covid infection in Scotland have hit another record high.

They have now risen for seven weeks in a row, with 376,300 people likely to have had the virus last week - or one in 14 - up from one in 18 people the previous week.The recent surge is down to the new 'Stealth Omicron' variant which has swept across the country.With the rise of new variants Prof Bauld revealed on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that new vaccines may be administered to deal with the threat.She said: "We may see in the future that we have different vaccines that protect against multiple variants."We're not there yet, but that's still a scientific option on the horizon."Prof Bauld was asked if a fourth dose of the vaccine would be rolled out to more adults.She said: "This is going to be key for the most vulnerable in the weeks ahead that people come forward yet again, or another dose because we do see some signs that protection is waning."That might contribute to some of the hospital numbers in a modest way that we're seeing recently." Ask