Boris Johnson has insisted the vaccination programme and the roadmap out of lockdown remain on track despite a shortfall in the expected supply of jabs.
A delay in deliveries from India and the need to retest a batch of 1.7 million doses is behind the issues with vaccine supply in April.
Johnson told a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday: “We have always said that in a vaccination programme of this pace and this scale, some interruptions in supply are inevitable.
The problem with a shipment from the Serum Institute of India (SII) has been blamed by the body’s chief on the country’s government, although Johnson said Narendra Modi’s administration has not stopped any exports.
The PM said: “It is true that in the short term we are receiving fewer vaccines than we had planned for a week ago, that is because of a delay in a shipment from the Serum Institute and because of a batch that we currently have in the UK that needs to be retested as part of our rigorous safety programme.
“As a result, we will receive slightly fewer vaccines in April than in March but that is still more than we received in February and the supply we do have will still enable us to hit the targets we have set.”
The PM also held out hope for holiday travel between Scotland and England when the timetable allows.
He said: "I hope very much that we'll be able to move around as one United Kingdom according to the timetable set out on the, on the roadmap and I hope that everybody will show common sense in application of the rules around the country. As I've said there's no change to the roadmap as a result of anything to do with the vaccine rollout which continues well."
Earlier Nicola Sturgeon said that Scotland will have 500,000 fewer coronavirus vaccine doses over the next month than anticipated.
The First Minister said there may be times in April where second doses will have to be prioritised but that she still expects all adult Scots to have been offered a first dose by the end of July.
Johnson told the Downing Street press conference: “It’s very important to stress whatever you may hear about the pressures that different countries are under to deliver vaccines for their public, these vaccines are a multinational effort, they are produced as the result of international co-operation and I want to stress that we in the UK will continue to view it in that spirit."
“We don’t have any bans on exporting stuff and we will continue to co-operate with our European friends.”
The issues with supply came as regulators in the UK and Europe reaffirmed the safety of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab which a Johnson will receive on Friday.
The Prime Minister said: “The Oxford jab is safe and the Pfizer jab is safe. The thing that isn’t safe is catching Covid, which is why it is so important that we all get our jabs as soon as our turn comes.”
