Coronavirus UK: Vaccine hold-up ’caused by AstraZeneca delivery delay from Indian factory’

Tories lashed out at ministers for ‘over-promising’ on the vaccine rollout today after Matt Hancock finally admitted a delayed shipment from India is behind a shortage set to hit the UK.

Frustrated MPs said the government had got ‘carried away’ talking up an impending surge in supplies, with the Health Secretary having hailed the prospect of ‘bumper’ numbers of Britons being jabbed. Hopes of the scheme being extended to under-50s before May now seem to have evaporated.  

Following 24 hours of desperate ducking and diving, Mr Hancock finally clarified this afternoon that the source of the problems is India, amid anger that the authorities appear to be following the EU’s lead in undermining legal contracts.  

The UK was expecting another 5million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer – completing its order for 10million jabs – but the ‘scheduled’ delivery has been pushed back.

Narendra Modi’s government in New Delhi is in control of exports and blocked the shipment, the Serum Institute’s CEO Adar Poonawalla said, to keep them for their own citizens. Mr Poonawalla said the company has committed only to helping the UK ‘as and when it can’. 

Last month Mr Poonawalla asked other countries to ‘be patient’ and said it had been asked to ‘prioritise the huge needs of India’ and poorer nations. Coronavirus cases in India are currently at about a third of their peak 2020 levels and the foreign minister reportedly said in parliament this week that ‘adequate availability at home’ was its top priority.

Mr Hancock — who last night dodged questions about the source of the shortage at a shambolic briefing and dismissed an NHS letter raising the alert as ‘technical’ — told the House of Commons today: ‘We have a delay in the scheduled arrival from the Serum Institute of India.’

He also revealed that a further batch of 1.7million doses has been held up because experts need to ‘re-test its stability’ – but he sparked more questions by failing to say which vaccines this affected, when the delay happened and how long it will take to clear. 

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth ridiculed Mr Hancock for telling the country last night he had ‘fantastic’ news to convey on vaccines, even as the massive setback emerged.  

Boris Johnson further fuelled confusion over the cause of the supply issues tonight, telling a Downing Street press conference that the Indian government had not blocked exports.

The PM – who is due to visit India this spring and is hoping to make progress on a trade deal – praised the ‘heroic’ job being done by the Serum Institute. And he insisted that the UK will still be able to hit its vaccine targets and keep to the roadmap dates for easing lockdown.  

Former No10 chief Dominic Cummings yesterday launched an extraordinary attack on Mr Hancock, saying the vaccine task force had only succeeded because the ‘smoking ruin’ Department for Health had been stripped of control. Mr Hancock reclaimed responsibility for the task force at the start of this month.

Mr Cummings renewed his attack today, revealing on Twitter that he will give evidence to MPs in May about how things went so ‘catastrophically wrong’.

However, in more positive news the latest daily figures showed that deaths have continued to tumble amid the vaccine push, with the 95 fatalities down nearly 48 per cent on the same day last week. There were 6,303 new infections, down 6.7 per cent over the week.

One former minister told MailOnline that Mr Hancock should have realised that problems would occur. ‘We should always underpromise in the anticipation of ‘events, events”,’ the MP said.

‘The early success has unfortunately made people get carried away. Had they not overpromised there would not be an issue because the public would have been delighted with what has been achieved.

‘The over-hyping opens up the government to criticism which it could have avoided.’ 

Boris Johnson insisted at a No10 briefing tonight that the UK will still be able to hit its vaccine targets and keep to the roadmap dates for easing lockdown

Health Secretary Matt Hancock today confirmed India delayed a ‘scheduled’ UK delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Boris Johnson will hold a press conference at Downing Street today from 5pm (pictured, the PM on a visit to his constituency)

Although the Serum Institute agreed to supply 10million doses of vaccine to the UK, Britain gets most of its AstraZeneca supplies from factories within the country. Most manufacturing is done in Keele and Oxford, with the finishing process completed in Wrexham in North Wales

Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January u2014 before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures

Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January — before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures

The Serum Institute of India's CEO, Adar Poonawalla, is pictured with No10's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in February, before news emerged of the deal that it would supply the UK with 10million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine

The Serum Institute of India’s CEO, Adar Poonawalla, is pictured with No10’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in February, before news emerged of the deal that it would supply the UK with 10million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine

The disruption to the UK's Covid vaccine supply is said to be caused by a delay to a delivery from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain's supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

The disruption to the UK’s Covid vaccine supply is said to be caused by a delay to a delivery from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain’s supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

The role New Delhi has played in this specific shipment delay remains unclear but coronavirus cases in the country are surging towards a second wave u2013 currently at about a third of their peak 2020 levels u2013 and the foreign minister said in parliament this week that 'adequate availability at home' was top of the list, the Financial Times reported

The role New Delhi has played in this specific shipment delay remains unclear but coronavirus cases in the country are surging towards a second wave – currently at about a third of their peak 2020 levels – and the foreign minister said in parliament this week that ‘adequate availability at home’ was top of the list, the Financial Times reported

HOW VACCINE TARGETS HAVE SHIFTED OVER TIME 

January 26

AstraZeneca’s chief executive Pascal Soriot predicted the UK would have vaccinated all over-50s by the end of March. 

February 5

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says all over-50s were expected to be vaccinated by early May.

February 21

No10 announces a target of April 15 to have all over-50s vaccinated. 

March 9

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says ‘bumper weeks’ of supply would accelerate the rollout in March. 

March 12

Senior Government sources say the vaccine rollout is ahead of schedule and over-40s would be offered a vaccine as early as April 4.

March 17

Matt Hancock acknowledges a fall in supply of the vaccine but insists over-50s will still be vaccinated by April 15.

Whitehall insiders have denied India purposely delayed the shipment in response to British criticism of allegations about Mr Modi’s Government using force on farmers staging peaceful protests over proposed plans that workers fear would hurt their incomes.

Panic about the UK’s lockdown plans erupted last night when NHS officials wrote a letter to vaccine teams saying there would be a ‘significant reduction’ in supplies and they must all but stop giving out first doses next month. 

In the UK, a bump in AstraZeneca’s vaccine was set to give ministers room to continue the roll-out and move onto jabbing 40-somethings, with pre-ordered supplies of AZ and Pfizer’s jabs reserved for second doses. But the NHS is now not expecting to have any jabs to dish out to first-timers, stalling the rollout that has reached a massive 25million people already. 

A member of the UK’s vaccine advisory group the JCVI, Professor Adam Finn, suggested the roadmap could be impacted by the hold-up. He said on Radio 4: ‘The next phase – phase two – may kick off slightly later than we’d optimistically hoped.

Hosting a briefing in Downing Street tonight, Mr Johnson tried to play down the impact of the tightening on supplies. 

‘We have always said that in a vaccination programme of this pace and this scale, some interruptions in supply are inevitable,’ he 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 – who are doing a herculean job in producing vaccines in such large quantities – 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 over-50s and the clinically vulnerable will still be offered a first dose by April 15, and second doses will be available to around 12 million people in April.

Every adult will be offered a first dose by the end of July, as planned, he said.

‘Our progress along the road to freedom continues unchecked, we remain on track to reclaim the things we love, to see our families and friends again, to return to our local pubs, our gyms and sports facilities and, of course, our shops,’ he said.

Pressed repeatedly on whether Delhi had blocked supplies earmarked for the UK, Mr Johnson said ‘the Indian government has not stopped any export’ but ‘there is a delay… as there is very frequently in vaccine rollout programmes’.

‘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 shortage came as Brussels issued a string of extraordinary threats to grab ‘Europe’s fair share’ of vaccines from Britain. 

Whitehall sources were adamant, however, that any disruption to the UK’s supply had nothing to do with the EU row. 

EU leaders are poised to perform another vaccine U-turn today after the European Medicines Agency concluded that the AstraZeneca product is ‘safe and effective’, despite more than a dozen countries suspending shots over sporadic reports of blood clots. 

Britain’s drug regulator today revealed it has received five reports of a specific brain blood clot in people who had had the AstraZeneca vaccine — but cautioned that no causal link has been found and there is no evidence blood clots are occurring more often than expected. 

The MHRA insisted the benefits outweigh any risks and the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so. 

The vaccine rollout was plunged into its first real crisis last night as the NHS revealed a major four-week fall in supply – though there is confusion over the source of the shortage.    

In a bombshell development, a leaked letter suggested that the NHS is expecting a ‘significant reduction’ in supply for four weeks from March 29. The letter said local vaccination centres have been told to close unfilled bookings from the end of this month – with the ‘constraint’ expected to last throughout April.

It would mean millions of people under 50 would now have to wait until May for their first vaccine appointment, much later than many had hoped.

There was initial confusion over the source of the delay with a Government source blaming a range of ‘production issues’ but not naming the manufacturer. 

AstraZeneca has denied it is at fault, insisting that the domestic supply chain in the UK is not experiencing disruption. 

Mr Hancock confirmed in the Commons today that it was in fact the Serum Institute, manufacturing Oxford and AstraZeneca’s vaccine, that was partly behind the delay.

He said: ‘We have a delay in the scheduled arrival from the Serum Institute of India.

‘Now, I want to put on the record my gratitude to the Serum Institute of India for the incredible work that they’re doing producing vaccine not just for us in the UK, but for the whole world.

Still no evidence AZ vaccine cases clots, say regulators 

There is still no evidence that the Oxford University/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots and only five people in Britain have developed them out of 11million, health chiefs ruled today.

Britain’s drug regulator, the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, revealed that a handful of the same blood clots causing panic in Europe have been seen in the UK and one man has died.

But they said there still isn’t any proof of a link between the two and the risk of dying of Covid is at least 1,000 times higher for most people, meaning getting the vaccine is still the safest option by far. Medical bosses said the clots might have even been caused by Covid-19 itself but they didn’t know.

Some of the clots were so rare, the MHRA said, that experts aren’t even sure how common they are in the general population – but none seem to be happening unusually often.

EU leaders were today also urged to make a humiliating climbdown after Europe’s medical experts ruled the AstraZeneca vaccine is not linked to blood clots, after probing the link.

European heavyweights Germany, France and Italy are now under pressure to immediately resume AstraZeneca jabs to restore confidence and attempt to salvage the EU’s woeful vaccine roll-out.

‘Their technology and their capability, which has been approved by the MHRA, is remarkable. The Serum Institute of India producing a billion doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine this year, it truly is partnership that we can be proud of.’

The company has been open about the fact that its top priorities are supplying Covid vaccines to India’s own one billion citizens and then to a programme that sends life-saving jabs to poor countries with bad healthcare.

The CEO, Mr Poonawalla, said in a tweet in February: ‘I humbly request you to be patient’.

In an interview with The Telegraph today Mr Poonawalla hit back against attempts to shift the blame for a hiccup in Britain’s rollout onto the Institute.

He said: ‘There is no stipulated contract period and time in which I am supposed to deliver these doses. I am helping as I can and when I can AstraZeneca and UK to supply these doses.’

Mr Poonawalla denied that there was a shortage of the vaccine or that there was ever a commitment to supply the UK on a deadline, and said the firm had already sent five million doses to Britain.

He added: ‘The balance doses will be decided to be given to the UK at an appropriate time by the Indian Government. While balancing India and all its needs at the same time…And of course, don’t forget we are primarily supplying the CoVax to poorer nations as they are the ones who have not got the doses.’ 

Tory MP Peter Bone told MailOnline that examples of vaccine nationalism were ‘disappointing’. 

He said: ‘The UK pretty much led the world on vaccine research and putting money into projects which have now turned into vaccines but we put considerable amounts of money on faith, the risk, and we ordered the vaccines as part of that process and they should be delivered because that is what they are contracted to do so I would be very surprised if any government tried to interfere with that process.’

He added: ‘I would be very disappointed if any government suddenly decided that they were, for national reasons, they were going to interfere with commercial contracts that were entered into, especially as the UK put money up front to help develop these vaccines.’ 

Another Tory MP said: ‘It is a very dangerous precedent to set. Governments have a duty to their populations to make sure their procurement works properly.

‘If governments don’t really put in place the right procurement arrangements they can hardly bleat about it if companies then deliver orders in the order they were placed.’

An AstraZeneca spokesman said: ‘Our UK domestic supply chain is not experiencing any disruption and there is no impact on our delivery schedule.’

The two operations are separate and AstraZeneca does not control the Serum Institute’s production nor pay it to carry it out, it simply provides the blueprint for making the doses as part of a licensing agreement for the common good. 

VACCINES ROAD BUMP ‘COULD DELAY END OF LOCKDOWN’ 

Britain’s route out of lockdown could be delayed because of the shortfalls in the Covid vaccine supply, an expert has warned.

All lockdown restrictions are expected to be lifted by July 21 at the earliest under Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown.   

But a four-week fall in supply of the vaccine to the UK, linked to Indian manufacturer the Serum Institute, could halt plans for Britons to return to the pub and go on holiday over summer.

The roadmap out of lockdown is reliant on all adults having at least one dose of a vaccine by the end of July.

Rollout of the vaccine has already been extended to all over-50s but the fall in supply means most under-50s will have to wait until at least May to receive a first dose. 

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in microbiology at the University of Reading, told The Sun: ‘It will undoubtedly make the meeting of the target dates for lifting restrictions more difficult than they otherwise would have been.

‘By pushing back the under-50s first doses, their second doses are also being pushed back.

‘If full vaccination becomes required for holidays abroad or even more mundane things like going to the cinema, millions of younger people may end up being excluded from participating for the whole summer.’ 

Although the Serum Institute agreed to supply 10million doses of vaccine to the UK, Britain gets most of its AstraZeneca supplies from factories within the country.

Most manufacturing is done in Keele and Oxford, with the finishing process completed in Wrexham in North Wales.

Some doses were imported from a facility in Leiden, Netherlands, at the very beginning of the rollout, but the company vowed to become self-sufficient within the UK after that. 

There are also suggestions of manufacturing issues with the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines, according to sources. 

News of the shortage came as Brussels issued a string of extraordinary threats to grab ‘Europe’s fair share’ of vaccines from Britain.

Whitehall sources were adamant, however, that any disruption to the UK’s supply had nothing to do with the EU row. ‘We are not giving supplies away and AstraZeneca are not redirecting our supplies to the continent,’ the source said. 

With conflicting accounts from No10 and AstraZeneca, the source of the delay remains unclear. 

But ministers are adamant that plans to get the UK out of lockdown won’t be hampered by the chaos, saying the NHS is still on schedule to reach all the top priority groups by mid-April and all adults by the end of July.

Robert Jenrick said on Sky News today: ‘We do think there are going to be some supply issues in the weeks ahead but this isn’t anything that people should be worried about. 

‘We are still on course to meet our targets – that’s to vaccinate all of the groups one to nine by the middle of April and all adults to receive their first vaccine by the end of July.

‘Nobody who has an appointment should be concerned, you are still going to get your second vaccine; all those appointments will be honoured.

‘But we always said, right from the beginning, a new manufacturing process would have its lumps and bumps and that has been the case in the past and I am sure it will be in the future.’

The news immediately triggered fears that the NHS could miss its vaccine targets, forcing ministers to delay the release from lockdown and slowdown Boris Johnson’s timetable for a return to normality.

Downing Street insisted that any potential shortages would not derail Mr Johnson’s roadmap for easing the lockdown.

A senior Government source said: ‘It doesn’t stop us hitting our vaccination targets and there’s no reason it should have any impact on the roadmap.’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told a Downing Street press conference that vaccine supply was ‘always lumpy’ and insisted the nation was on track to meet the target of offering a first dose to all over-50s by April 15.

India has seen a sharp resurgence in cases after a months-long decline from last year's peak when cases reached nearly 100,000 per day

India has seen a sharp resurgence in cases after a months-long decline from last year’s peak when cases reached nearly 100,000 per day 

Deaths are also on the rise again after falling below 100 a day for a time, with India once more recording 1,000 fatalities per week - though this compares favourably to most of Europe

Deaths are also on the rise again after falling below 100 a day for a time, with India once more recording 1,000 fatalities per week – though this compares favourably to most of Europe 

Data suggests Covid deaths recorded during the second wave are falling faster than in the first as the vaccines take effect

Data suggests Covid deaths recorded during the second wave are falling faster than in the first as the vaccines take effect

EU STILL HAS 40% OF ITS VACCINES ‘IN STORAGE’

Alexander Stubb, the former prime minister of Finland, has claimed that 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are ‘laying around in various storage in European member states’.

More than a dozen countries have halted their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine meaning they are just sitting on supplies while the European Medicines Agency gets set to announce its verdict on the blood clot scare today. 

Mr Stubb argued that EU president Ursula von der Leyen’s sabre-rattling was actually an attempt to motivate member states to ‘get their act together’ and accelerate the rollout of jabs.

Mr Stubb said the export ban threat was simply reflecting the ‘political reality’ as he claimed the EU is ‘by far the biggest producer of the vaccines’, with companies shipping millions of doses to countries all around the world.

Ministers yesterday condemned Brussels’ ‘brinkmanship’ after Ms von der Leyen complained the bloc is sending millions of doses to other countries while receiving few in return as she warned of action to ensure ‘reciprocity’.

Speaking as the EU’s vaccine rollout descended deeper into chaos, Ms von der Leyen called on Britain to begin sending AstraZeneca jabs overseas.

But Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth urged Mr Hancock to explain what these supply issues were and how the Government was aiming to resolve them.

‘Trying to dismiss or downplay the legitimate concerns of anxious people waiting for a vaccine is simply not good enough,’ Mr Ashworth added. 

A Pfizer spokeswoman said deliveries of its vaccine ‘remain on track’ for the first quarter of its 40million-dose agreement with the UK, with a ‘steady supply of vaccines’ delivered to the nation. 

Asked about the letter, Mr Hancock said: ‘Supply is always lumpy and we are on course to deliver the offer that everybody who is aged 50 and above will be able to get vaccinated by the 15th of April. I recommit to that today.

‘And, of course, these supply schedules have moved up and down throughout this whole rollout. It’s absolutely par for the course and that’s a normal operation letter.

‘We are committed to all adults being able to get the jab by the end of July and we are on track to deliver on that commitment.’

Meanwhile, a Department of Health source insisted that ministers still expected the vaccination of the under-50s to begin at some point next month, despite yesterday’s NHS letter appearing to rule it out. ‘We will still be able to do people in their forties in April,’ the source said. 

Officials are also expecting the US-made Moderna vaccine to come on stream from the start of next month, with enough jabs to vaccinated 2.5million people.

And the NHS insisted the shortage was nothing to do with the Vaccines Taskforce which has been coordinating the inoculation drive. A source said: ‘The Vaccines Taskforce has done a fantastic job for this country in sourcing vaccine supplies and we are all the beneficiaries of it.’

But some experts warned that the potential disruption was a serious issue and the repercussions could last for months.

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: ‘It’s to be expected that supply… will be variable, but to delay vaccination for the under-50s by a month is more than a bump in the road. To pretend that everyone at risk has been vaccinated is misleading. 

The MHRA said an estimated 10.7million first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been dished out by February 28, compared to 9.7million of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. If the same 54/46 per cent split is still being used, it would suggest the Pfizer figure now stands at 13.6million

The MHRA said an estimated 10.7million first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been dished out by February 28, compared to 9.7million of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. If the same 54/46 per cent split is still being used, it would suggest the Pfizer figure now stands at 13.6million

Ursula von der Leyen has told Britain to hand over doses of AstraZeneca vaccine or else risk seeing jab exports from the continent blocked, despite the fact that most of Europe has halted its use

Ursula von der Leyen has told Britain to hand over doses of AstraZeneca vaccine or else risk seeing jab exports from the continent blocked, despite the fact that most of Europe has halted its use

The vaccine effect on catching Covid: The Pfizer (left) and Oxford (right) jabs slash the chance of getting infected in over-70s by 60 per cent after a single dose

The vaccine effect on catching Covid: The Pfizer (left) and Oxford (right) jabs slash the chance of getting infected in over-70s by 60 per cent after a single dose

The Serum Institute hit back against claims it would be behind a slowdown in the UK's vaccine programme and issued a reminder that it is providing for its home country's one billion citizens (pictured: a woman receives a jab in Mumbai) as well as for millions of people in poor countries around the world

The Serum Institute hit back against claims it would be behind a slowdown in the UK’s vaccine programme and issued a reminder that it is providing for its home country’s one billion citizens (pictured: a woman receives a jab in Mumbai) as well as for millions of people in poor countries around the world

PORTUGAL TELLS BRITS THEY WILL BE WELCOME FROM MAY

Portugal will allow UK tourists into the country from May, the country’s tourism minister has said in the latest boost for hopes of a holiday this summer.

Rita Marques said British visitors who can prove they have been vaccinated or show a negative Covid test result will be welcome from May 17.

But those hoping for some time in the sun will still have to wait for an announcement from the UK government that they will be allowed to leave this country.

Portugal’s announcement comes a day after Brussels unveiled its new Digital Green Pass scheme that will allow EU citizens to travel freely within the bloc.

Citizens qualify for a ‘green pass’ if they can prove they have been vaccinated, have a history of Covid infection, or can provide a negative test result.

Ms Marques used an appearance on BBC Radio to call for the scheme to be thrown open to all international travellers and not just those from EU countries.

At the moment, Britons are not eligible for the scheme and will instead have to apply for separate permission from each EU country they intend to visit, President Ursula von der Leyen said as she announced the move on Wednesday evening.

The UK government is currently carrying out a review into how international travel should be restarted, with a report due by April 12.

May 17 is the earliest date that restrictions could be lifted, Boris Johnson has announced, but no firm decision has been made.

Currently, Britons are only allowed to leave the country for work, volunteering, education, on medical grounds or for funerals.

‘During the pandemic, more men in their 40s were admitted to intensive care units than men and women over 85 and the Government were clearly expecting to proceed at pace with the vaccinations, otherwise they wouldn’t need to stop appointments being made in April.

‘We don’t yet know exactly why the delay has occurred, but the ripple effects could last for months. It will undoubtedly make the meeting of the target dates for lifting restrictions more difficult than they otherwise would have been.’

Some 141 new deaths from Covid were reported yesterday and 5,758 cases. At a Downing Street press conference last night, Health Secretary Matt Hancock tried to downplay fears, stating that vaccine supplies were ‘always lumpy’ and that supply schedules changing were ‘absolutely par for the course’.

Signed by Dr Nikita Kanani, medical director for primary care for the NHS in England, and Emily Lawson, chief commercial officer, the letter of warning urges vaccinations to be focused on the top priority groups while supplies are low.

Addressed to local health organisations, it said: ‘The Government’s Vaccines Taskforce have now notified us that there will be a significant reduction in weekly supply available from manufacturers beginning in the week commencing March 29, meaning volumes for first doses will be significantly constrained.

‘They now currently predict this will continue for a four-week period, as a result of reductions in national inbound vaccines supply.’ Staff working in vaccination centres may need to be deployed to try and increase uptake among hard-to-reach groups, it suggests, such as pop-up centres at mosques and other community settings.

Jabs should not be offered to anyone outside the top nine priority groups during that time period, unless under ‘exceptional circumstances’.

It adds: ‘Those aged 49 years or younger should not be offered vaccination unless they are eligible via a higher cohort because they are… clinically vulnerable, unpaid carer or frontline health and care workers.’ Ministers have pledged that all adults will be offered a vaccine by the end of July, with Mr Hancock defiantly vowing this will still be the case.

But the news is likely to end any hopes that restrictions could be eased ahead of schedule, given the success of the rollout so far.

After a surge in supply this week, experts had forecast it would be followed by a dip with the number of doses available likely to drop below two million a week next month.

Health officials stressed the vaccine rollout ‘relies on a biological process which doesn’t always go smoothly’ with any blip potentially destroying a batch containing a million doses. Meanwhile, rising numbers of patients needing their second dose at 12 weeks will reduce how many can be offered a first vaccine.

Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said it was right for the focus to remain on over-50s. He said: ‘It’s important we get that done properly before we move on to phase two, because phase one is where the patients are who suffer the mortality.’

The Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘As has been the case since the programme began, the number of vaccinations carried out over time will vary due to supply – but we remain on track to offer a first vaccine to over 50s by April 15 and all adults by July 31.’

In other vaccine news, the EU’s shambolic vaccine rollout also descended deeper into chaos as a rattled Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the bloc, complained it is sending millions of doses to other countries while receiving few in return —warning of action to ensure ‘reciprocity’.

She called on Britain to begin sending AstraZeneca jabs overseas and lashed out at the drug-maker for ‘under-producing and under-delivering’ doses, saying it is to blame for the slow place of Europe’s roll-out.

That is despite the fact that a dozen European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, have halted the use of AstraZeneca jabs over unfounded fears they cause blood clots, meaning around 7.5million doses are currently sitting unused.

England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, offered a sharp rebuke to European decisions not to use the jab, saying: ‘Vaccines don’t save lives if they’re in fridges. They only save lives if they’re in arms, and that’s a really important fact.’ 

Under-50s now won’t get a jab before MAY: But with three AstraZeneca factories in Britain why do we need to import vaccine from India anyway? 

Millions of over-40s won’t be vaccinated against Covid before May because of a supply shortage which Matt Hancock today blamed on a delayed shipment of 5million doses of AstraZeneca’s jab from India.

Senior Government sources last week sparked hopes of a faster route out of lockdown, saying that everyone over 40 could be offered their first dose by Easter because stocks were expected to double.

But with the delivery delay from the Serum Institute of India and the hold-up of another batch of 1.7million doses that need to be re-tested, ministers have had to kill hopes of a faster roll-out next month.

The Health Secretary last night said the mammoth NHS inoculation drive will need to focus on second doses, using first dose supplies to mop up over-50s who have yet to accept their invite.

But it means that No10’s unofficial targets that Britain’s vaccine roll-out could move onto over-40s by Easter were seemingly based on the hope of getting an extra shipment of Covid vaccines from India.

Ministers were expecting the other half of their 10million ordered doses to arrive this week from the Serum Institute of India, the largest jabs manufacturer in the world, after penning a deal at the start of March.

But the Institute has pushed back the shipment amid mounting pressure from the Indian Government to ensure it supplies them first. The firm also claims it did not agree a timescale for any deliveries — even though Mr Hancock today said it was ‘scheduled’.

The jabs shortage means millions of people under 50 will now have to wait until May for their first vaccine appointment, much later than ministers had hoped. One Department of Health source said it still hopes to do people in their forties next month.

No10 insists it is still on track to offer 32million Britons in the top nine priority groups their first dose by April 15.

Here, MailOnline delves into what is causing the shortage, which vaccine supplies have been affected, and whether it could delay plans to ease lockdown:

Where do our vaccines come from? 

The vast majority of the UK’s AstraZeneca vaccine supply is manufactured on home soil in factories in Oxford, Keele and Wrexham.

These are thought to be making at least 2million doses per week between them and have been mass-producing throughout most of January and February and March.

Some doses at the start of the rollout were imported from a facility used by the company in Leiden, Netherlands, and a shipment of 10million was ordered from the Serum Institute of India, which is producing the vaccine with AstraZeneca’s permission.

All the Pfizer vaccine doses used in Britain come from a plant in Puurs, Belgium. 

Is the Indian factory delay to blame for April’s vaccine shortage?   

No10 sources claimed last night that the shortage was down to a delayed shipment of 5million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine from India.

Britain was expecting 10million shots from the Serum Institute of India, the largest jabs factory in the world, after securing a deal at the start of March.

Its boss said today that the first half of the shipment — 5million doses — had already arrived and that there was ‘no stipulated contract’ for when any of the doses needed to be delivered. 

Adar Poonawalla claimed the firm was helping the UK ‘as and when’ it could, while prioritising their own country and poorer nations around the world.

The Institute has pledged one billion doses to low and middle income countries, with experts saying it is crucial they get the jabs to end the pandemic. The SII was also told last month to prioritise Indian demand. 

Mr Poonawalla told the Daily Telegraph: ‘There was never a commitment to supplying doses to the UK in any stipulated time. We just said we will offer our help.

‘India has allowed 5million doses to go to the UK. The balance doses will be decided to be given to the UK at an appropriate time by the Indian Government.’

Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January u2014 before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures

Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January — before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures

How does this affect the vaccine timetable?

The delay leaves Britain with five million fewer doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine than planned, stalling the roll-out to the over-40s until at least May.

Ministers are racing to inoculate all 32million in the top nine priority categories with at least a first dose by April 15.

This is because millions of top-up jabs need to be dished out from next month when they hit the crucial 12-week deadline between doses. 

The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) widened the gap between doses to 12 weeks to get the jabs to as many people as possible quickly.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last night the focus of the drive would turn to circling back round to ensure everyone in the top nine groups is offered a jab, with supplies reserved for second doses.

Sources also warned deliveries of Pfizer’s jab will slow in May, with current deliveries already being earmarked as second doses to ensure the NHS has enough available. 

The drop-off in deliveries coupled with the demand to start dishing out second doses will slow the roll-out as far fewer first doses will be available. 

Has the timetable changed?

The NHS warned last night that there would be a four-week delay in deliveries. 

India has stalled sending 5million doses to Britain, and the Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today suggested they were also expecting a cut in shipments from other nations.

This is thought to refer to the Pfizer vaccine, which is manufactured in Puurs, Belgium, and then shipped to the UK via the Channel Tunnel.

The lost doses, however, and the pressing need to administer second jabs when the deadline expires will see doses for the over-40s pushed back.

They were next in line to get the shots after all 32million in the top nine priority groups had been vaccinated.  

The disruption to the UK's Covid vaccine supply is said to be caused by a delay to a delivery from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain's supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

The disruption to the UK’s Covid vaccine supply is said to be caused by a delay to a delivery from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain’s supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

What have ministers promised?

The Government has committed to vaccinating all over-50s against Covid by April 15, and figures show they are well on their way to meeting the target.

There are 32million Britons in the top nine priority groups – including NHS staff, care home residents and severely ill adults – and 25.2million of these have already received their first dose of the vaccine with a month still to go.

Jabs are being dished out at an average of 351,000 a day, suggesting these groups could all be covered by the end of this month.

NHS England officially opened jabs to over-50s this week amid ‘bumper’ supplies.

But senior Government sources also appear to have over-promised after privately briefing that the roll-out was so successful they could vaccinate over-40s in April.

Mr Hancock was forced to dampen expectations yesterday, when he warned the drive would be focusing on the top priority groups in the coming weeks as it will also need to give out second doses.

Are other factors involved? 

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today said the Government had learned of Covid vaccine supply issues ‘in the last few days’, and suggested the problem is not due to reductions from a single nation.

‘We have learned from some of our manufacturers that there are going to be some supply issues in the last few days,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The CEO of the Serum Institute, Adar Poonawalla, hit back against allegations and told The Telegraph the firm did not promise a timescale for its delivery to the UK but had already managed to give Britain five million doses while also supplying India and other poor countries around the world

The CEO of the Serum Institute, Adar Poonawalla, hit back against allegations

‘A number of global manufacturers are experiencing issues.’

Pressed if the issue was vaccine coming from India, he said: ‘It’s not that there’s any one factory responsible for this or any one country.’

AstraZeneca jabs are mostly being supplied by factories in the UK – in Staffordshire, Oxford and Wrexham, and the pharmaceutical giant has said supplies from these are not an issue.

Deliveries from a factory in Leiden, the Netherlands, and one in Germany, were also received before the start of the year. It is thought these factories are no longer sending shots to the UK.  

Pfizer is supplying all its doses from one factory in Puurs, Belgium, and says it is on track to meet its commitment of supplying 40million by the end of this year. 

A leaked Scottish supply document suggested its deliveries would be reduced from the start of April, and are mostly expected to be reserved for second doses.  

Why is the UK even getting AstraZeneca doses from India?

Britain has ordered 100million doses of the Oxford vaccine to be supplied by Anglo-Swedish company.

The majority of these shots are being produced at three factories in the UK, with some also coming from Belgium and Germany before the start of the year.

But seemingly in order to speed up the roll-out, the UK also penned a deal to get 10million doses from the Serum Institute of India.

Charities warned the agreement would likely stir concerns that rich nations were taking jabs from poorer ones. 

But the UK Government said the agreement followed assurances from the Institute that the delivery would not impact supplies for poorer countries.

A spokesman said: ‘The UK has ordered 100million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, of which 10million doses will come from the Serum Institute of India.’ 

Is Pfizer’s supply affected too?

Health sources warned yesterday that deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine would be ‘challenging’ from April.

A leaked Scottish supply document also suggested deliveries would be affected from next month. 

It shows Pfizer would be sending 1.5million doses a week throughout March. But by April this was expected to tail off, dropping to around 950,000 shots every seven days.

The fall, however, coincides with when deliveries of the Moderna vaccine are expected to begin. These will start at 50,000 a week, the figures suggest, before rising to 160,000 a week in May. 

The Scottish document was leaked in early February and its figures were multiplied based on the Barnett formula, which is how ministers are divying up doses between UK nations.

Ministers are expected to start to reserving Pfizer vaccines imminently, to ensure they have enough to dish out second doses. 

Britain widened the gap between doses to 12 weeks in order to protect as many people as possible quickly. 

But time is fast running out, and millions will soon need to receive their second jab because when the roll-out began in December the country was mostly dishing out Pfizer doses.

Health experts have said Britons should have two doses of the same vaccine, and that large-scale studies would need to be carried out to determine whether people can receive a different second dose jab to their first.

The MHRA said an estimated 10.7million first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been dished out by February 28, compared to 9.7million of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. If the same 54/46 per cent split is still being used, it would suggest the Pfizer figure now stands at 13.6million

The MHRA said an estimated 10.7million first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been dished out by February 28, compared to 9.7million of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. If the same 54/46 per cent split is still being used, it would suggest the Pfizer figure now stands at 13.6million

The NHS has written to GPs, hospitals and councils to warn of a looming fall in the supply of coronavirus vaccines. Pictured: A pharmacist giving out jabs in Kingston, London

The NHS has written to GPs, hospitals and councils to warn of a looming fall in the supply of coronavirus vaccines. Pictured: A pharmacist giving out jabs in Kingston, London

Why is supply so challenging? 

Ministers have repeatedly warned that vaccine supply will be the ‘limiting factor’ in Britain’s national roll-out.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last night that they were expecting deliveries to remain ‘lumpy’ in the coming weeks.

And Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam last month claimed it was like ‘brewing beer’, with every yield producing a different amount. 

AstraZeneca is makes its doses using living cells, which create different amounts of the vaccine each time. 

This process was behind the delay in deliveries to the EU, with the company’s chief executive Pascal Soriot saying the same issues initially did not affect the UK because the factories were set up earlier meaning there was more time to ‘iron out’ issues.

Pfizer’s vaccine is produced in Belgium, and then shipped to the UK. But work to expand production capacity at the factory last month meant that deliveries were temporarily reduced.

The EU has threatened to stop sending vaccines to the UK unless it starts to receive more doses of the AstraZeneca jab — despite 19 countries on the continent suspending its use based on unproven blood clot fears. 

The AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine

The AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine

Will Britain get any other vaccines in the coming weeks?

The UK is also expecting to start rolling out the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines in the coming weeks.

The Moderna jab is billed to start arriving from April, and the UK has ordered 17million doses. 

Johnson and Johnson’s one-shot vaccine is also expected to become available in a matter of weeks following successful trials.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs in the UK, is currently reviewing the vaccine.

The UK has secured 30million doses of the jab, with the option of getting another 22million doses if needed later down the line.

Will delays scupper lockdown-easing plans?

Ministers have been desperate to reassure people this won’t scupper plans to get the country out of lockdown.

All four UK nations are working on different schedules, with Scotland and Wales planning to move slightly faster than England and Northern Ireland.

Boris Johnson has said at least some of England’s restrictions will remain in place until June 21 at the earliest.

But ministers have insisted today delays in the roll-out will not disrupt plans to ease lockdown, saying they will be led by ‘data not dates’ on the spread of the virus.

They added that vaccine shortages won’t affect the timetable for administering second doses.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which designed the UK’s jabs priority list, says it is crucial Britons get a second dose no later than 12 weeks after the first – amid a lack of evidence to show a longer gap is possble.

A boss on the group today rold Radio 4 the jabs could be delayed a little if necessary, but not for a significant period.

NHS chiefs have said the expected supplies needed for second doses were always going to be reserved, with the roll-out only able to continue offering first doses if they had a bumper supply – which they were hoping would be bolstered by India. 

Mr Jenrick said: ‘Nobody who has an appointment should be concerned, you are still going to get your second vaccine, all those appointments will be honoured.’

What warning did the NHS send out yesterday?

The NHS has written to GPs, hospitals and councils to warn of a looming fall in the supply of coronavirus vaccines.

It said the Vaccines Task Force (VTF) had warned of a ‘significant reduction’ in supplies from the week starting March 29. The VTF, which agreed vaccine deals on behalf of the Government, ‘predicted’ this would continue for four weeks and blamed ‘reductions in national inbound vaccines supply’.

The letter said ‘volumes for first doses would be significantly constrained’. But jab manufacturer AstraZeneca insisted last night the UK supply chain was not being disrupted.

 

What does this mean? 

People would no longer be able to book a jab at a vaccination centre or pharmacy from March 29 to April 30. Anybody already booked in for their first or second dose will not be affected and those in priority groups one to nine can still book for dates before that.

The NHS will continue to focus on ensuring as many as possible in these groups, including all over-50s and the clinically vulnerable, receive the jab. GPs will run pop-up clinics in the likes of retail parks, where eligible people will be able to get the jab even if they have not booked.

But people in lower priority groups, including the over-40s who were next in line, now face a longer wait than was previously expected. The pause in new bookings will be reviewed at the end of March.

Are delivery delays linked to EU vaccine supply threats?

Brussels yesterday threatened to block exports of coronavirus vaccines from the EU and complained about a shortage of AstraZeneca supplies. 

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted ‘reciprocity and proportionality’ in exports, pointing out that 10million doses of vaccine had gone from the EU to the UK.

Although Pfizer jabs were crossing the Channel to the UK, AstraZeneca vaccines are not heading the other way, she indicated.  

She warned the bloc would ‘reflect on whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate’.

But Government sources last night insisted the two issues were not connected. The UK is not volunteering any of its supplies to the EU and none of its orders are being siphoned off by AstraZeneca, insiders insisted.

Mr Hancock said the supply of vaccines to the UK from EU production facilities was ‘fulfilling contractual responsibilities and we fully expect those contracts to be delivered on’.

Is the UK exporting vaccines to the EU?

There is no evidence the UK has exported any vaccine doses to the EU and there has been no public announcement about a deal.

The Department of Health said it didn’t know whether there had been a deal between AstraZeneca and the EU to ship doses from Britain and the vaccine maker has refused to comment. 

Boris Johnson told the House of Commons last week that ‘we have not blocked the export of a single Covid vaccine or vaccine component’.  

However, Mrs von der Leyen claimed yesterday: ‘Indeed the UK is producing AstraZeneca. In our contract with AstraZeneca there are even two sites in the UK that are put in the contract for potential deliveries for the European Union.

‘We are still waiting for doses to come from the UK, so this is an invitation to show us that there are also doses from the UK coming to the European Union so that we have reciprocity.’

How does it affect Government targets?

The Government is confident it will be able to offer a first dose to everyone in the top nine priority groups by April 15. 

And it is still expecting enough supplies to be able to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July, as previously promised.

Everyone will be able to get their second dose within 12 weeks of the first, as advised by the medical regulator. 

Mr Hancock said the nation was still ‘ahead of schedule’ on the April 15 target.

And Mr Jenrick said on Sky News today: ‘This isn’t anything that people should be worried about. We are still on course to meet our targets.’

When will over-40s get their jab?

The over-40s are next in line to get Covid vaccines, once 32million Britons in the top nine categories have been offered a dose.

Mr Hancock said last night the focus would turn to circling back round to ensure a very high take up of second doses. 

Data suggested Britain was on track to expand the roll-out to adults in their 40s before the end of March – especially with bumper supplies expected.

But this is now likely to be delayed until May because the NHS letter warned of a four-week delay in deliveries. 

But some over-40s could be invited for their vaccine after April 15 if supplies allow, sources suggest. 

How many jabs have been given so far?

The bombshell letter came as the Government celebrated reaching the milestone of vaccinating 25million people in the first 100 days of the programme.

The Department of Health and Social Care said 25,273,226 in the UK have received their first dose of AstraZeneca of Pfizer vaccine between December 8 and March 16. Around 1.7 million have also had their second dose. Half of the adult population of the UK is 26.3million.

Officials said the milestone brings people ‘one step closer to safely seeing our friends and family again’. Some 95 per cent of people aged 65 and over have had their first dose, as have nine in ten of those clinically extremely vulnerable.

Boris Johnson said: ‘This latest milestone is an incredible achievement – representing 25 million reasons to be confident for the future as we cautiously reopen society.’ 

BATMOBILE-driving Indian CEO of vaccine producer meant to be supplying UK says countries hoarding ingredients has slowed production – while Delhi wants to target surging second wave 

The delay in vaccine shipments to Britain from an Indian pharma giant run by a father and son with a fleet of luxury cars comes amid a resurgence of Covid-19 infections which is causing fears of a second wave in the country of 1.4billion.  

Billionaire Adar Poonawalla and his father Cyrus linked up their Serum Institute with AstraZeneca’s vaccine developers months before the shot had passed its trials last year, taking a huge financial gamble on the UK-developed jab. 

The bet has paid off with Serum’s factories in India now churning out tens of millions of doses per month, but deliveries to Britain are being held up as countries hoard materials and India demands more doses for itself. 

Adar Poonawalla, the ‘batmobile’-driving CEO of the Serum Institute, said the shortage in UK supplies had ‘nothing to do with’ his firm – blaming the Indian government for holding up supplies to Britain. 

While India’s infection and death rates are fairly low given its vast size, a sudden spike in new cases – which have leaped by 47 per cent in a week – has prompted new curfews, school closures and a demand for more vaccine doses at home. 

Adar Poonawalla (left), pictured with his wife Natasha Poonawalla last year, is the chief executive of the world's largest vaccine manufacturer - India's Serum Institute

Adar Poonawalla (left), pictured with his wife Natasha Poonawalla last year, is the chief executive of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer – India’s Serum Institute

The Serum Institute was founded in 1966 by Cyrus Poonawalla (pictured right, with actress Sharon Stone) after a mishap on the family's stud farm

The Serum Institute was founded in 1966 by Cyrus Poonawalla (pictured right, with actress Sharon Stone) after a mishap on the family’s stud farm 

Adar Poonawalla's so-called 'batmobile', pictured, is part of the family's collection of luxury cars - but the firm also gambled millions on vaccine production

Adar Poonawalla’s so-called ‘batmobile’, pictured, is part of the family’s collection of luxury cars – but the firm also gambled millions on vaccine production 

The New Delhi city government has announced plans to ramp up vaccinations from 40,000 a day to 125,000, officials said, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. 

Authorities in the state of Odisha are seeking an additional 2.5million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot, which is marketed as Covishield in India.

India has already handed out more than 37million doses, mostly using AstraZeneca, but PM Narendra Modi has asked state leaders to increase testing and vaccinations.  

The Serum Institute is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and has partnered with various developers including Novavax and Codagenix as well as AstraZeneca. 

It is aiming to ramp up production to 100million doses per month by April, making India a major competitor with Russia and China in the global vaccine market.   

Founded by Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966, the firm’s origins go back to the Poonawalla family’s background in racehorse breeding – which led them into pharmaceuticals after one of their horses was bitten by a snake. 

The horse’s death after bureaucratic delays meant no serum was available prompted Poonawalla senior to found the firm so that treatments could be made at the farm.

Part of the Poonawalla-owned campus in Pune is still a stud farm today, but it also employs hundreds of workers on its huge-scale global vaccine production. 

Two of the Ferraris in the family's fleet of luxury cars, after the Poonawalla empire grew from a way of treating horses on a stud farm to a global pharma giant

Two of the Ferraris in the family’s fleet of luxury cars, after the Poonawalla empire grew from a way of treating horses on a stud farm to a global pharma giant 

As well as supercars, Adar Poonawalla has a collection of vintage and custom off-road cars

As well as supercars, Adar Poonawalla has a collection of vintage and custom off-road cars

Just some of the extensive fleet is put on display - including Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Ferraris

Just some of the extensive fleet is put on display – including Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Ferraris

Some of the family fortune has gone on supercars including the CEO’s so-called ‘batmobile’, believed to be a £40,000 adaptation of a Mercedes S350. 

The family also owns Ferraris and Rolls-Royces including a vintage Silver Shadow and a Phantom Drophead Coupe, according to Indian media.   

But last year the CEO and his father decided to invest millions in Covid-19 vaccines, months before it was known whether any of them would even be effective. 

‘It was just a quick five-minute chat between myself and my father,’ Adar Poonawalla told NPR.  

Around half of Serum’s production capacity has been promised to the Indian government, but it is also exporting AstraZeneca shots to numerous countries. 

These include Britain, where health secretary Matt Hancock said a delayed arrival from the Serum Institute was to blame for a sudden shortfall in supplies. 

It means that people under 50 potentially face a longer wait to get their first dose, although the government says there will be no delay to second doses.  

Downing Street did not deny the suggestion from Poonawalla that the Indian government was temporarily blocking exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Poonawalla told Bloomberg that countries including the US and India were hoarding not only doses but the ingredients required to make them. 

‘We had to dedicate a lot of our capacity, which was not originally planned for India,’ he said. 

‘We’re trying to balance it out as much as possible, but again for the first few months we have been directed to prioritise supplies to India and certain other countries that have a high disease burden.’  

Airport staff unload boxes of AstraZeneca's vaccine developed by the Serum Institute at Mumbai Airport last month

Airport staff unload boxes of AstraZeneca’s vaccine developed by the Serum Institute at Mumbai Airport last month 

He also told the Telegraph: ‘It is solely dependent on India and it has nothing to do with [us]. It is to do with the Indian government allowing more doses to the UK.’

A No 10 spokesman said: ‘I would point back to what [Serum] have said and the fact that they are one of the manufacturers of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

‘We produce it here in the UK and it’s produced elsewhere as well so we will continue to work with the manufacturers of the vaccine.’

Asked if ministers were in talks with the Indian government, No 10 said: ‘We’re in constant contact with other governments around the world’. 

AstraZeneca said its ‘UK domestic supply chain is not experiencing any disruption’, but made no mention of possible problems in India. 

Britain’s current other vaccine provider is Pfizer, which denied any issues with its UK delivery schedule.

Hancock told parliament that jabs from a third supplier, Moderna, were expected ‘in the coming weeks’.

India brands its own vaccination campaign as the world’s largest, with around 37million people given a dose so far. 

The country also has one of the highest counts of cases and deaths in the world, with a total of 11.5million infections leading to more than 159,000 deaths. 

But this compares favourably to Western countries on a per-capita basis, with Britain recording 80 per cent as many deaths for a population only five per cent as large. 

Still, India is experiencing a three-month high in daily infection numbers after weekly cases rose from 129,000 last week to 189,000 in the last seven days. 

Cases had been in a months-long decline after falling from a first-wave peak of nearly 100,000 per day last September. 

The death rate has also picked up again, with more than 1,000 deaths recorded in the space of a week for the first time since late January. 

Adar Poonawalla, pictured with the UK's international trade secretary Liz Truss, says India's government is demanding more vaccine doses than expected for itself

Adar Poonawalla, pictured with the UK’s international trade secretary Liz Truss, says India’s government is demanding more vaccine doses than expected for itself 

Britain is getting a delayed shipment from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain's supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

Britain is getting a delayed shipment from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain’s supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

India’s Punjab state has extended a night curfew across nine districts while Modi’s home state of Gujarat has shut some of its schools until at least April 10. 

In Maharashtra, the home of Mumbai, the rapid spread in industrial areas has raised fears of further disruption to India’s economy. 

Cases have more than doubled in the past two weeks in industrial towns such as Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and Nagpur, home to car, chemical and textile factories.  

‘We have asked industries there to operate with minimum manpower as much possible,’ said a senior Maharashtra government official.

Hospital beds and special Covid-19 facilities were filling up fast, especially in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune, said another state official.

The state of 112million people has ordered a new lockdown in some districts and put curbs on cinemas, hotels and restaurants until the end of the month. 

Neighbouring Pakistan has also noticed a sharp rise in cases, blamed in part on the British variant of Covid-19. 

Most of the new cases came from Pakistan’s largest and richest province, Punjab, where hospital beds were said to be filling up fast. 

India and Pakistan have a combined population of 1.57billion, a fifth of humanity.  

Q&A: HOW DID UK VACCINE ROLLOUT PLUNGE INTO CRISIS?

The vaccine rollout was plunged into its first real crisis last night as the NHS revealed a major four-week fall in supply, meaning millions of people under 50 now face waiting a much longer wait for their first vaccine appointment than many had hoped. Here, we take a look at what is causing the shortage, how it differs from EU supply threats, and what it actually means for those still waiting for a jab.  

What has happened?

The NHS has written to GPs, hospitals and councils to warn of a looming fall in the supply of coronavirus vaccines.

It said the Vaccines Task Force (VTF) had warned of a ‘significant reduction’ in supplies from the week starting March 29. The VTF, which agreed vaccine deals on behalf of the Government, ‘predicted’ this would continue for four weeks and blamed ‘reductions in national inbound vaccines supply’.

The letter said ‘volumes for first doses would be significantly constrained’. But jab manufacturer AstraZeneca insisted last night the UK supply chain was not being disrupted.

What does this mean?

People would no longer be able to book a jab at a vaccination centre or pharmacy from March 29 to April 30. Anybody already booked in for their first or second dose will not be affected and those in priority groups one to nine can still book for dates before that.

The NHS will continue to focus on ensuring as many as possible in these groups, including all over-50s and the clinically vulnerable, receive the jab. GPs will run pop-up clinics in the likes of retail parks, where eligible people will be able to get the jab even if they have not booked.

But people in lower priority groups, including the over-40s who were next in line, now face a longer wait than was previously expected. The pause in new bookings will be reviewed at the end of March.

How does it affect Government targets?

The Government is confident it will be able to offer a first dose to everyone in the top nine priority groups by April 15. And it is still expecting enough supplies to be able to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July, as previously promised.

Everyone will be able to get their second dose within six weeks of the first, as advised by the medical regulator. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the nation was ‘ahead of schedule’ on the April 15 target. No 10 insisted there would be no delay to easing lockdown.

When will over-40s get their jab?

The over-40s are next in line and it was anticipated they would be offered an appointment when a significant number of over-50s had had theirs.

The over-50s became eligible this week and the pace of the rollout suggested the NHS could move on to the next cohort by the end of March or early April.

This is now likely to be delayed until May. But some over-40s could be invited for their vaccine after April 15 if supplies allow, sources suggest.

Medics have been told to focus on maximising vaccination uptake in groups 1 to 9 and offering second doses instead of expanding it to others. 

Is it linked to EU supply threats?

Brussels yesterday threatened to block exports of coronavirus vaccines from the EU and complained about a shortage of AstraZeneca supplies. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted ‘reciprocity and proportionality’ in exports, pointing out that 10million doses of vaccine had gone from the EU to the UK.

Although Pfizer jabs were crossing the Channel to the UK, AstraZeneca vaccines are not heading the other way, she indicated. She warned the bloc would ‘reflect on whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate’.

But Government sources last night insisted the two issues were not connected. The UK is not volunteering any of its supplies to the EU and none of its orders are being siphoned off by AstraZeneca, sources insisted.

Mr Hancock said the supply of vaccines to the UK from EU production facilities was ‘fulfilling contractual responsibilities and we fully expect those contracts to be delivered on’.

How many jabs have been given so far?

The bombshell letter came as the Government celebrated reaching the milestone of vaccinating 25million people in the first 100 days of the programme.

The Department of Health and Social Care said 25,273,226 in the UK have received their first dose of AstraZeneca of Pfizer vaccine between December 8 and March 16. Around 1.7 million have also had their second dose. Half of the adult population of the UK is 26.3million.

Officials said the milestone brings people ‘one step closer to safely seeing our friends and family again’. Some 95 per cent of people aged 65 and over have had their first dose, as have nine in ten of those clinically extremely vulnerable.

Boris Johnson said: ‘This latest milestone is an incredible achievement – representing 25 million reasons to be confident for the future as we cautiously reopen society.’

 

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