Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has hit back at Scottish Labour's Jackie Baillie after she claimed that Scotland's vaccine effort lags behind the rest of the UK.

Baillie called for the Scottish Government to diverge from advice from independent clinical experts and cut the interval in jag doses from eight to four weeks.

Addressing the point on social media, Jackie Baillie tweeted:" Our vaccine effort lags behind the rest of the UK—which is why now is the time to follow WHO guidance and cut the time between jags. The MHRA has said that the 2nd dose can be given after 4 weeks. America and Australia have cut waiting times. We can’t afford not to act."

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However, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Humza Yousaf soon retorted to Labour's health spokesperson stating: "This is simply untrue, we don't lag the rest of the UK, why talk down the brilliant efforts of our vaccinators?

"On various different measures, we are ahead of Eng & NI. Your demand that we ignore the expert advice of JCVI is irresponsible." 

The Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisations (JCVI) has urged that the interval between vaccines should be eight weeks. The Scottish Government has followed the advice from the JCVI throughout the pandemic. 

The Herald:

Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “The SNP are more concerned with deflecting criticism than dealing with the challenges our vaccine programme faces.

“The numbers speak for themselves – whether the government want to admit it or not, the roll-out is slowing.

“We cannot afford to drop the ball on vaccinations at this crucial moment.

“The scientific evidence is clear that cutting the time between vaccines is safe – the SNP need to stop delaying and act now to get the virus under control.”

The latest data from the ONS shows that 88.9% of Scots have had their first vaccine, with 87.1% in England and 81.6% in Northern Ireland. Wales has a rate amongst adults of 90.2%. The UK average is 87.3%.

READ MORE: Covid Scotland: SNP urged to cut vaccine dose interval to four weeks

Wales also leads the way with 2nd vaccine rates with 73.2%, England has 66.2% take-up while Scotland sits at 65.5%. Northern Ireland is below the UK average of 66.4% with a rate of 65%.