Vaccine breakthrough offers “hope”, First Minister says

A vaccine that could prevent more than 90 per cent of people getting coronavirus should offer “tentative hope”, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Ms Sturgeon was speaking at her daily coronavirus briefing, after medical firms Pfizer and BioNTech announced preliminary analysis shows their vaccine is yielding successful results.

Their vaccine can prevent more than 90 per cent from contracting Covid-19, they say, with no safety concerns raised.

Ms Sturgeon said this was “good news”, and added: “This is news that should give us all some tentative hope today.”

Scotland recorded 912 cases yesterday, with none in Shetland.

The First Minister will review the current tiered system tomorrow, with Shetland in tier one, but Ms Sturgeon said it was “highly unlikely” there would be significant changes.

“We can’t afford cases to plateau at their current high level,” she said.

She said a further rise in cases was “entirely possible”, and tight restrictions would need to remain in place.