People under 40 are reportedly to be offered an AstraZeneca alternative vaccine over blood clot risk fears.
Currently, the policy of offering an alternative vaccine applies to the under-30s
However, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has reportedly recommended the age threshold be raised up 40 after Britain’s medicines regulator reported new figures on clots last week.
A senior government source insisted that the change would not impact the UK’s target of offering a first vaccine dose to every adult by the end of July.
It comes after one area in the UK is at risk of staying in lockdown due to an "uncontrolled" outbreak of Covid-19.
Moray, in north-eastern Scotland, has an infection rate of more than 81 cases per 100,000, with hospital admissions on the rise.
Public health officials have urged the public to get tested even if they do not have any coronavirus symptoms.
They said that if the spread is not controlled, the current restrictions may not be lifted - despite lockdown measures being eased in other parts of Scotland.
Chris Littlejohn, deputy director of public health at NHS Grampian, said the current restrictions are not preventing further spread of the disease.
It follows news that an experimental new Moderna vaccine candidate has been found to 'neutralise' Brazil and South Africa coronavirus variant, Moderna Inc claim.
Latest trials also found a third dose of either its current Covid-19 shot or the experimental new vaccine candidate increases immunity against both variants.
The booster shots, given to volunteers previously inoculated with Moderna's two-dose vaccine regimen, also boosted antibodies against the original version of Covid-19, Moderna said.
The early data comes from a 40-person trial testing both Moderna's existing shot and a version developed to protect against the South African variant of Covid-19 called mRNA-1273.351.
Two weeks after the new jab, Moderna says both the booster shot and the tweaked vaccine increased the antibodies in the blood that can neutralise the two variants of concern.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the Mirror: "Over 50 million vaccines have now been administered, providing millions of people with protection against COVID-19 and saving thousands of lives.
“The position of our independent medicines regulator, the MHRA, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) continues to be that the benefits of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks for the vast majority of adults.
“We hit our target to offer a vaccine to everyone in phase one of the vaccination programme and we are on track to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July.
“The JCVI keep their recommendations under review in line with the latest scientific advice.”
