THE fightback against the deadly COVID-19 has begun with injections of a vaccine getting under way in Scotland.

The first jabs were given on Tuesday after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency confirmed that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech had been authorised for use in the UK.

The vaccine has arrived in Fife – we have two 'super freezers' to keep it at -70°C – with more than 65,000 doses delivered to Scotland in specially-refrigerated trucks on Saturday.

The Scottish Government ordered 23 special ultra-low temperature freezers to store the vaccine, which will be located close to centres where the jab will be given.

One is already at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

Each compartment of the freezer can hold 10 trays of vaccine and each tray contains 195 vials. Within each vial is five doses.

People will be required to take two doses of the vaccine around three weeks apart.

It comes with the hope of a return to a more normal life but mass vaccinations will be the biggest logistical challenge the country has faced in decades.

Cowdenbeath MSP Annabelle Ewing said: "It is great to have some good coronavirus-related news and this latest development is really exciting, a wonderful breakthrough.

“Of course, there is still a long way to go yet before everyone can be vaccinated with the vaccine available initially to a variety of priority groups, but the news that we are starting up the vaccination programme really is a wonderful beacon of hope.

“I know that people will always have concerns about a new vaccine but the science is clear that it is safe and I urge everyone to take the opportunity, as soon as it is offered, to get this injection and so protect themselves and those around them from this awful virus.

“It is only through this programme of vaccinations that we can hope to bring an end to this global pandemic.”

First in line for the jabs will be everyone aged 80 and over and frontline health and social care staff, followed by residents in care homes and their carers, people aged 75 and over, people aged 70 and over and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, people aged 65 and over and people aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions.

That's expected to take until the end of March.

From April to the summer of 2021, the aim is to vaccinate people aged 60 and over, people aged 55 and over and people aged 50 and over.

Scots in the 16 to 49 age range will not be vaccinated in phase one, unless they have an underlying health condition.

And most children under the age of 16 will not get the jab. Only those with 'a very high risk of exposure and serious outcomes' will need to be vaccinated.

Those who meet the criteria for phase one of the vaccinations will be contacted by post or, if they work in health and social care, by their employer.

Immunity is expected to last at least six months, and possibly longer, with NHS Fife staff and trained volunteers administering the jabs.

The Pfizer vaccine has been tested on more than 43,000 people, across six countries, with no safety concerns raised.