18 MONTHS BEFORE ALL SCOTS GET SWINE FLU JAB

Kevin Woods, chief executive of NHS Scotland, has written to health boards advising it could be November 2010 before there is enough vaccine for everyone.

The letter states that the first batches of the vaccine should arrive in August.

And it adds that a “significant proportion” of stocks – possibly enough for half of the population – could arrive before the end of this year.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said that the latest scientific advice would be used to determine the at-risk groups who would be given the H1N1 vaccine first.

But Conservative health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said that there had been an “understanding” that there would be sufficient vaccine for all the population over the winter months.

She said: “All the publicity over swine flu means that there is likely to be a rise in demand for the vaccine very soon.

“Given that we are being told that the H1N1 virus could mutate into something more serious, I think this development is of very real concern.”

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has previously stated that offering the vaccine to everybody in Scotland is likely to cost “in excess of £100million”.

She called for the Treasury to fund vaccinations in Scotland.

However, Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy rejected the demand.