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The Scottish Government is committed to improving planning and preparedness for any potential future pandemic.

We set out within our first one hundred days to establish a standing committee on pandemics, bringing together scientists and clinicians to advise us on the future risks and to ensure we are as prepared as it is possible to be. We have also committed to a comprehensive public inquiry and we will continue to work with local, regional and national partners to inform and improve pandemic planning and preparedness in Scotland.

Additionally, we continue to work closely with other UK nations to plan and prepare for a range of pandemic diseases.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the independent, regulatory body for the teaching profession and are responsible for the accreditation and approval of all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. They will only approve programmes which meet the requirements in their Guidelines for Accreditation of ITE Programmes. The Framework specifically asks how student teachers are supported to develop an understanding of a range of pedagogy approaches in a number of key areas. One of the key areas is health and wellbeing education.

ITE providers regularly meet to discuss the quality of their provision and, on 8 June, held a symposium covering health and wellbeing. The learning from this symposium will inform future revisions to programmes.

The information requested regarding the number patients who have contracted COVID-19 while attending hospital is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

However, on 14 July 2021 the Public Health Scotland weekly report titled “Hospital onset COVID-19 cases in Scotland” shows that up to 20 June 2021 in NHS Lanarkshire there were:

• 493 definite hospital onset cases (first positive specimen date was 15 or more days after admission)
• 270 probable hospital onset cases (first positive specimen on days 8 to 14 of admission to NHS board)
• 203 indeterminate hospital onset cases (first positive specimen on days 3 to 7 of admission)
• 1,223 non-hospital onset cases (first positive specimen on day 1 or 2 of admission)

These statistics are not published with a hospital breakdown. The report can be found at the following link:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/8430/2021-07-14-covid19-hospitalonset-week-24-2021-report.pdf

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01153 on 28 July 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government continues to follow the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) guidance for the rollout of our vaccination programme.

The JCVI has from the start advised a rollout of COVID-19 vaccination targeting the most vulnerable first, resulting in an age based rollout, with the oldest, and those with conditions which make them susceptible to COVID-19 being offered vaccinations first.

COVID-19 vaccinations are now open to everyone over the age of 18, who can register for a vaccination online via NHS inform here : Registering for a coronavirus vaccine | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot)

Health boards are now also offering drop in clinics, with no pre arranged appointment required. Details of which are different per board area, with further information available here : Vaccine drop-in clinics | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot)

While it is reassuring that, during a further national COVID-19 lockdown in Q1 2021, once a decision to treat was made, cancer patients in NHS Forth Valley waited on average four days for treatment. However, the 62 day standard remains challenged and while the overall aim is to recover cancer waiting times performance, our priority - as the NHS continues to remobilise - remains ensuring that vital services are delivered safely to patients based on their clinical priority.

To support the improvement of cancer waiting times, we are now releasing an additional £10 million non-recurring revenue funding across NHS Scotland, of which £545,000 has been made available to NHS Forth Valley.

Recovery and Redesign: An Action Plan for Cancer Services was published on 9 December 2020. The Plan will ensure patients have access to the best possible treatment and care and is monitored and overseen by the National Cancer Recovery Group.

The Scottish Government is in weekly contact with NHS Forth Valley to ensure that patients referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer are moved through the pathway as quickly as possible based on clinical priority and plans are underway to review the boards implementation of the Scottish Government Effective Cancer Management Framework.

Scottish Government officials regularly meet with Alcohol and Drug Partnerships which allows for discussion on a wide range of issues as part of our shared commitment to reduce drug deaths.

Meetings with officials have taken place in May, June and July 2021. Most recently I met with Cathie Cowan, CEO of NHS Forth Valley, on 6 July discussing drug deaths, MAT implementation, Buvidal and workforce culture. I also met with Carol Chamberlain, Strategic Lead for South Lanarkshire ADP, on Wednesday 23 June as part of a joint meeting with stakeholders to discuss residential rehabilitation.

The next meeting with all ADPs is scheduled to take place in August 2021 and will focus on funding the national mission to reduce drugs deaths.

I announced on the 18 June, the establishment of a Lived Experience Panel will be a key initial task for the Implementation Group.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-00315 on
17 June 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

To understand the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines in preventing the development of long COVID, an individual first has to have had COVID-19 in the first place.

Therefore, the question really is effectiveness of vaccines in preventing the COVID-19 virus and subsequent long COVID. A study published by Public Health England on 22 May 2021, Vaccines highly effective against B.1.617.2 variant after 2 doses , demonstrates the high effectiveness levels of two doses of both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines against the Delta variant.

Two doses offer good protection against the Delta variant at levels of 88% and 60% for Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines respectively after two weeks. This is compared to 93% and 66% against the Kent variant. One dose of either vaccine offers protection of 33% against Delta variant after three weeks, compared to 50% against the Kent variant.

This follows data published on 23 April 2021 by the University of Oxford and the Office for National Statistics which showed that one dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca cut coronavirus cases by nearly two-thirds and were 74% effective against symptomatic infection.

Clinical trials have found that vaccination against COVID-19 further reduces the likelihood contracting long COVID even if an individual develops COVID-19. A paper published by the Tony Blair Institute on 18 June 2021, The Hidden Pandemic: Long Covid , states ‘vaccination also provides additional protection against long COVID: even if a vaccinated individual goes on to contract Covid-19, that person’s chances of developing Long Covid are reduced by a further 30 per cent in the most at-risk age group.’

Additionally, the vaccines have shown to also relieve symptoms of long COVID in people that already developed COVID-19. Yale School of Medicine stated on 12 April 2021, Why Vaccines May Be Helping Some With Long COVID , ‘as many as 30 to 40 per cent of those who get the vaccine have reported improvements to their symptoms.’

However, analysis by Professor Karl Friston, of University College London, suggests that changes in people’s behaviour after being vaccinated have reduced the vaccines’ ability to prevent infection . People who have “let their guards down” by dramatically reducing social distancing and other safety measures have put themselves at much higher risk of contracting COVID -19 and potentially developing long COVID, believes Professor Friston, who publishes a weekly Covid-modelling report and sits on the influential independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies ( SAGE ).