Professor John Robertson OBA
The above is from the Over 5 million under 65s with a long-term health condition could miss out flu vaccine reported in the Mirror yesterday.
From:
Less than a third (28.9%) of people with one or more long-term health conditions (LTHCs) have had a flu vaccine. 9 million aged under 65’s in clinical risk groups are eligible but just 40% vaccinated last year (2024 to 25) – leaving over 5 million missing out and unprotected. Uptake of the flu vaccine in older adults, aged 65 and over, is higher – 61.5% this year to date; and 74.9% overall for last year – but many over 65s with LTHCs will be missing out.
From Public Health Scotland, the figure for those with long-term conditions was 42% and for over 65s was 78% meeting WHO target.
From Viral respiratory diseases in Scotland surveillance report, published yesterday:
- Patient attendance at GP practices for influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infection remain at baseline level, usual for this time of year.
- Following an early start to the influenza season with a drifted strain of influenza A(H3N2) predominating, laboratory diagnoses of influenza in Scotland have continued to increase in week 44. Although overall activity remains at baseline, the sharpest increase and highest levels of test positivity are seen in the 5-14 age group (20.7%).
- Despite a small but continued increase in week 44, laboratory confirmed RSV activity remained at baseline levels overall and across age groups, with all indicators remaining below those of the same week in previous seasons. Test positivity increased in the under 1 and 1-4 age groups, which is typical of RSV seasonality as levels tend to increase in the youngest age groups first before spreading to older adults. Hospital admissions due to RSV increased to 48 (from 39) with around 95% of cases in the 0-4 age group. https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/viral-respiratory-diseases-in-scotland-surveillance-report/viral-respiratory-diseases-in-scotland-surveillance-report-6-november-2025/
So, in Scotland flue cases increasing but under control by our higher vaccine compliance and more effective NHS. NO suggestion that thousand could die?
Cleaner hospitals?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
In case this one has been missed.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy apologised after being found by a probe to have “unknowingly” breached the governance code on public appointments by failing to declare she had received £2,900 in donations from her pick to chair the new football watchdog
Imagine this in Scotland Sarwar and tories would
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“Lisa Nandy has been found to have “unknowingly” breached public appointment rules with her choice to be the boss of England’s new football watchdog”.
“Unknowingly” ?
Who is buying that as truth ?
There is a pattern here with Labour.
First we had Angela Rayner’s ‘error’ in not seeking additional specialist tax advice after failing to pay enough taxon her £800,000 flat in Hove.
Then we had Rachel Reeves failing to obtain a licence needed to rent out their London home before moving last year in what she said was an “inadvertent error”.
Rayner resigned but the other two are seemingly safe as they have Keir Starmer’s confidence…….
Starmer dismissed calls for an investigation on Reeves and Starmer has now said that “he accepted that Nandy” had “acted in good faith”.
Honestly this is the same Keir Starmer who formerly when in opposition, used to call out the Tories , their government Ministers and their PM’s, when they, the Tories, were found to be in compromising political positions………
But it seems that Labour are somehow an exception to the same rules that they say should exist for and so be applied to all other political parties and governments within the UK…..including , BTW, the SNP.
Hypocrites and crooks
Liz S
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But do these ‘cleaner’ hospitals have clean air – ventilation and air filtration plus masks FFP2 or better? Flu virus is airborne so need very good indoor air quality ( IAQ) to prevent transmission. Not just fl0u of course but other airborne viruses such as SARs- Cov2
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you make my day …….every day. Please don’t stop
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O/T
BBC website 7th September 3rd article on the Scottish Politics page
“Whip restored to suspended Labour MP Leishman”
As if that is news that was not expected at some point.
He , Leishman, was said to be one of four Labour MP’s who have had their suspension lifted after a discussions with the chief whip Jonathan Reynolds on the previous Friday .
So Brian Leishman , formerly a supposed Labour rebel with a cause, has now promised to become a good boy , so I assume he has also promised the Labour Chief Whip that he, Brian Leishman, will be a rebel no more ?
On social media Leishman wrote:
“People can rest assured that I will continue to fight for my constituents’ interests and to improve living standards. This Labour government must change course and govern by real Labour Party values. That’s what I’ll fight for.”
Brian also wrote on social media “Good to be back in the Parliamentary Labour Party”.
Is it really ?
The same “parliamentary Labour party” that is led by Sir Keir Starmer who Brian previously said had betrayed the people within his constituency in Grangemouth…..does Brian think that we and his constituents are so daft that we do not think this all seems a bit iffy ?
Come on Brian do you expect us to believe that the whip has been restored to you on the basis that you will “continue to fight” and that you will do so by ensuring this Labour government “must change course” and who believes there is such a thing as “real Labour values” ?
Why would a political party restore the whip to an MP unless they , as a party, were confident, via assurances from that MP, that they as an MP would not misbehave or rebel in the future….. as he or she did previously ?
If Leishman is “happy” to be “back in the Labour party” then he is not the right MP for his constituency and also it confirms that his former rebelling and criticism of his party was more out of necessity to try and keep his own credibility (and job) with his constituents than any real act of rebelling on their behalf.
Unfortunately for Brian he returns to the fold at a time when the fold itself appears to be folding….as Labour are polling very badly in Scotland and also in the rest of the UK as well………
So will Brian now be out canvassing for the Labour party in their Scottish election campaign next year………probably.
Well timing is everything and now that Brian’s suspension has been lifted , it is just in time for next year’s Scottish elections.
So it does seem a tad tactical , as a show of (contrived) public display of there being a supposed real party ‘unity’ within the Labour party in Scotland…….not buying it really.
As it is obviously as fake as the Labour party itself is fake…….
Liz S
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What I will never be able to comprehend is why any self-respecting Scot would wish to belong to a political party/company, based in another country.
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