A single-shot coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has been approved for use in the UK.
Britain has ordered 20 million doses of the Janssen vaccine, which health officials previously said could be used for hard-to-reach groups of people.
The jab has been shown to be 67 per cent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe Covid-19, with studies suggesting the vaccine also offers complete protection from admission to hospital and death.
Welcoming the approval of the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: "This is a further boost to the UK's hugely successful vaccination programme, which has already saved over 13,000 lives, and means that we now have four safe and effective vaccines approved to help protect people from this awful virus.
"As Janssen is a single-dose vaccine, it will play an important role in the months to come as we redouble our efforts to encourage everyone to get their jabs and potentially begin a booster programme later this year."
Over 3.1million Scots have already had the first dose of the either the Pfizer or AstraZenaca jabs as of Wednesday 26 May, according to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Both vaccines are nearly 90% effective against the so-called 'Indian variant', experts have said.
She added that a total of five million doses have now been administered in Scotland, with almost 1.9m second jabs now given and thanked NHS staff for their efforts.
It comes despite around half of vaccine appointments at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro vaccination centre being missed this weekend.
However, 18-29-year-old's now have the opportunity to register for their jabs by Friday June 4 either by text or email.
