NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has said it is committed to ensuring that all those aged 65 and over receive their flu vaccination between October and November before flu season.

It comes after the health board faced backlash when some older members of the community had not yet received a date for their vaccination.

As the largest Health Board in Scotland, NHSGGC is responsible for the vaccination of  over 400,000 people.

And according to health bosses, around 90,000 of those within the ‘at risk’ and 65+ year old groups have now been vaccinated.

READ MORE: Freeman warns NHS bosses it is 'not acceptable' for oldest to get flu jags last

Dr Linda De Caestecker, Director of Public Health said: “We want to send out a clear message and reassure our residents that those who need it will receive their flu jag before the start of the flu season in December.

“Although our plans meant everyone would be immunised before the flu virus starts to circulate, we have become aware of concerns amongst particularly older members of our communities, some of whom have not yet had an appointment date.

"We have taken swift action to speed up the distribution of letters, so that all those remaining will now to be sent by NSS (National Services Scotland) before the end of October.

“We do understand that people are anxious about their health going into winter, especially this year with the added complication of Covid, the number of people to be vaccinated is greater than ever before, but we are committed and on track to achieve this before the end of November.

“We are also aware that some people have received their letter after their appointment date and we must apologise for the understandable frustration this must have caused. There have been a number of reasons for this and we have taken action to avoid a repetition of this situation.

READ MORE: Rollout of flu vaccine in Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire is 'highly unfortunate and short-sighted'

“We are receiving a high number of enquiries from patients, keen to know when their letters will arrive. To cope with this demand, we have increased significantly the number of call handlers to avoid any delays and we appreciate everyone’s patience while this happens.

“Thanks to our hard working staff more than 90,000 people have been vaccinated in the first few weeks of the campaign. We still have a long way to go but want to reassure people that there is plenty of time left to protect everyone before the flu season begins.

Yesterday it was revealed that the Scottish Government had ordered the health board to prioritise the flu vaccine in order of oldest to young, following the Herald's investigation.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said Health Secretary Jeane Freeman made it “very clear” to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC) that it was “not acceptable” for the most elderly in the population to wait longest for the winter flu jag.

He added: “We understand that following our intervention, GGC are now taking action to address this and that patients will now be prioritised from oldest to youngest, going forward, with all patients sent details of their appointment.”