By Martin Williams
SWINE flu vaccinations will be offered to 1.4million Scots from October.
The Government also said it would monitor the impact of the H1N1 virus on children as they return to the classroom from next week. Sharon home from Swedish hospital A pregnant Scots swine flu patient sent to Sweden for specialist treatment has returned home.
Sharon Pentleton, 26, of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, was flown to Stockholm because no beds were available in the UK for the rare procedure she required.
She had suffered an extreme reaction to the H1N1 virus.
Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said Sharon's treatment had been successful but she was still being treated in intensive care.
She added: "Her condition has improved sufficiently to allow her to transfer home and I'm pleased to say she was has returned to Scotland and intensive care at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock."
Sharon's family said she was "making good progress".
The first phase of the vaccination programme will target all frontline health workers, pregnant women and those in high-risk groups from seasonal flu aged over six months.
Anyone sharing a house with someone who suffers chronic disease could also be vaccinated.
The announcements came as the number of people in Scotland consulting their GP for flu-like symptoms fell slightly for the second week. It dropped from 48.4% to 44.2% for every 100,000 people.
About 3000 people have contracted the H1N1 virus, with 10 people currently in hospital. Community samples that have tested positive have fallen by half a percent to 9.5%.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "At this stage, and this is subject to change, we anticipate being able to commence the vaccination programme some time in the middle of October."
The Scottish Government has said it will secure enough vaccine for the whole population - but early supply will be limited - and the 1.4m will be first to receive it.
The start date depends on licensing of vaccines but manufacturers said they could be ready in late September or early October.
With many schools returning from the summer break on Monday, it is feared the virus could spread quickly in the playground and classroom.
Ms Sturgeon told a briefing in Edinburgh: "We will be working with schools to put a focus on hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene messages in schools.
"It remains the case that that's the best way of reducing the spread of infection. Obviously, we will be monitoring carefully the impact of the schools going back on the spread of the virus."
Meanwhile, a Scots schoolgirl struck down by swine flu in Greece is out of danger, doctors have said.
Gordonstoun pupil Natasha Newman, 16, whose family is from London, has been moved out of internsive care in a children's hospital in Athens.
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