Scots under the age of 30 will be offered alternatives to the covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine after the UK medicines regulator said there was a possible link between the jab and "extremely rare" blood clots.
Those aged 18 to 29 will be offered the Pfizer, Moderna or another jab where available.
Scotland's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nicola Steedman this evening confirmed the Scottish Government will offer the alternatives in line with the latest JCVI recommendations.
She said that despite the move, the government currently remains on track to offer first doses of the vaccine to all adults in Scotland by the end of July.
Ms Steedman said: "Following the statements by the MHRA and the JCVI we want to stress that the evidence shows that, overall, the benefits of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks and it continues to be a safe and effective vaccine.
"However, the Scottish Government will follow the JCVI recommendation to offer alternative vaccines to adults under 30 without underlying health conditions.
"We have two other vaccines which have been authorised by the MHRA currently in use - Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna - and others should become available in the future.
"We continue to urge anyone offered a vaccination to take up their appointment. Everyone who has received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine should receive their second dose as this gives greater and longer lasting protection against the virus.
"This is with the exception of the very few individuals who have had a blood clot with low platelet counts after their first injection, or an allergic reaction.
"We are currently considering whether there may be any implications for the timescales for our national vaccination programme but at this stage we remain on track to offer first injections to all adults by the end of July."
A total of 2,593,932 people have received a first dose of a covid vaccine in Scotland and 479,239 have received their second.
Meanwhile, Scotland has recorded a further five coronavirus deaths and 289 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to latest figures.
That brings the death toll under this measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - to 7,619.
The daily test positivity rate was 1.5%, down from 2% on Tuesday, the figures published by the Scottish Government on Wednesday show.
It comes as NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) became Scotland's first health board to roll out the Moderna vaccine at The SSE Hydro on Wednesday.
