THOUSANDS of Scots with serious medical conditions have failed to get their free flu jabs despite doctors warning they could face danger.

Almost half of patients who qualify - including those with heart conditions - have not yet been inoculated.

Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, today revealed that just 35.3% of "at risk" patients had been given a flu jab, compared with a 60% target set by health experts.

He said supplies of the vaccine had been late but added: "Uptake rates for people in the at-risk groups are not as high as we would like to see so I would urge people with a serious medical condition such as asthma, diabetes or another medical condition that puts them at risk to get their flu jab now."

Pensioners automatically qualify for the flu injection and already their uptake rate has reached 65.6%, compared with a national target of 70%.

Scotland has received 1.3m doses of the flu vaccine, 200,000 more than the previous year.