Scottish Papers: Boosters ‘scramble’ and spring indyref campaign
Most of the previous papers focused on the expansion of the Covid booster system in response to the Omicron variant, with all over 18 now eligible for a third dose three months after the second. Metro says the beating on the NHS vaccine website continued Monday night as thousands joined their booster booking line.
It says Scotland’s vaccination program will be “dramatically expanded and accelerated” to slow the spread of Omicron. After confirming that differences were identified in Scotland on Monday, former Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said people should not cancel Christmas plans, the paper reports.
The Herald reports that the time when people were eligible to receive a booster vaccine has been reduced from six to three months from their second dose — meaning that many under the age of 40 will be due to jab just before Christmas.
Scotland’s daily mail calls the move “a strong Christmas”, as more than two million people in Scotland now qualify for a third dose.
The Times reports that the NHS is “ripping off” the booster program with 13 million more people who have been made eligible across the UK. The paper says that with a handful of confirmed cases in the UK, health officials fear the difference will spread.
Similarly, the Scotsman assumes that not all cases of new diversity in the UK are associated with foreign travel, “suggesting that social infections have already begun”. While Ms Sturgeon urged Scots people not to panic, she said she could not pull off any more obstacles, the report said.
The newspaper and journal quote the comments of the first minister during a news conference on Monday, when he called the emergence of the Omicron “the most challenging during the epidemic for some time”.
“Pressure is on” to reopen mass vaccination centers such as the NHS Louisa Jordan in Glasgow, according to the Scottish Daily Express. He cited Scotland’s chief medical officer who confirmed that discussions were ongoing with health boards on how to speed up the booster program.
The Daily Telegraph focused on the US response to Omicron, with President Biden saying the difference is “not a cause for fear” and that there is no need for further closure if people are vaccinated and wearing a mask. The paper said his comments noted a difference in the approach taken by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been accused of hastening to tighten restrictions over the weekend despite no information about the power of new change.
“O Gods” is the shocking theme of the Daily Record, after the prime minister called for a four-nation conference to meet Cobra to discuss the differences between Nicola Sturgeon and his Welsh counterpart, Mark Drakeford. In a letter to Boris Johnson, the two leaders also said they wanted stronger travel restrictions on people arriving in the UK.
Ms Sturgeon’s keynote address at the SNP conference is National focus, which sets out her plan to launch another independence vote in the spring next year.
The Courier is leading concerns about a possible collapse in bad weather like Storm Arwen after the people of Perthshire were left without power for four days. The Mount Blair Community Trust has warned of conditions associated with heavy snowfall that could kill rural people, the report said.
The Scotland Sun leads the story with actress Sheridan Smith, who claims the paper deviated from the narrow path in his Range Rover and hit a tree during Storm Arwen. A neighbor told the paper Smith is lucky to be alive and the accident “could have killed him”.
Police say the body found in Hamilton is that of 16-year-old missing Amber Gibson, the Glasgow Times reported. The paper said the boy was found missing Friday and his body was found near Cadzow Glen around 10:15 Sunday.
The Edinbugh Evening News leads families of children who have been waiting for months for mental health services and have been told to seek help from charities.
The Scottish SPCA has rescued a number of villages that were “abandoned in the bush” by farmers, reports the Evening Express.
And the Evening Telegraph is leading the way with a viral image of a “flying” caravan that blew up in a man’s garden in Dundee, landing on its roof. The incident happened during Storm Arwen’s 90mph air weekend over the weekend, the paper said.
Related Internet connection
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
