Friday April 17th 2026
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
West Lothian has bucked the trend against vaccine fatigue which has seen fewer and fewer Scots coming forward for jabs-including flu and regular immunisation.
Results from this season’s vaccine programme show an increase on previous years, councillors heard this week.
Neil Ferguson, the General Manager of Primary Care and Community Services told a meeting of the Social Work and Health PDSP:
“West Lothian’s Winter performance exceeds the national average in many of the immunisation cohorts.”
Overall uptake in the vaccination programme showed that among priority groups the uptake for 75+ age group was 24.9% in the West Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership (WLHSCP) areas compared to a national uptake of 73%.
Among care home residents local uptake was 88.1% compared to a national figure of 80%.
At the opposite end of the age spectrum immunisation rates in the baby to 4 years age groups was 16.7% compared to a national uptake of only 9.9%.
The uptake of the winter flu jab was higher in all groups than elsewhere in Scotland, with the exception of in social care staff. All age groups saw West Lothian’s uptake at least three percentage points higher than the national average.
A report to the committee detailed the groups eligible for jabs: “Eligibility for the vaccines is determined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) who provide advice to UK governments and is used to inform planning assumptions. As with previous years, the JCVI has recommended that vaccines are provided for those most likely to benefit from them, in particular those at high risk of serious disease.
“Scotland’s 5-year vaccination and immunisation framework and delivery plan was published in November 2024. The framework focuses on the outcomes of increasing uptake, improving population health and reducing inequalities.”
Louise Blyth, the Clinical Nurse Manager of the Vaccination and CTAC Services said the success in turning around what has been poor uptake in recent years lay in localised clinics.
West Lothian adults & children’s vaccination clinic model delivers vaccinations clinics that are geographically spread out across West Lothian and clinics are based within local health centres.
This model is designed to increase accessibility by ensuring communities can receive vaccinations close to home.
Patients are scheduled to ensure vaccination appointments are offered at the nearest clinic to place of residence to support person-centred care. Vaccinations are also carried out in care homes and patients’ own homes.
West Lothian’s primary and secondary school pupils are vaccinated by NHS Lothian’s Community Vaccination Team (CVT) for flu within the school setting, pupils who are eligible for Covid-19 are vaccinated by West Lothian’s immunisation team.
The WLHSCP delivers nasal flu within all council nurseries and is the only HSCP in NHS Lothian to provide this service.
The report added: “The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) supports delivery by providing staff and vehicles to reach remote or hard-to-access groups.
“In addition, bespoke clinics can be organised in areas where programme analytics indicate lower uptake. Ongoing collaboration with GP practices in West Lothian’s most deprived communities has proved highly effective, and these partnership clinics now form an established part of our delivery model.
“This approach strengthens equity of access and continues to reduce inequalities in vaccination uptake across West Lothian.”
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