THE roll-out of the Covid vaccine programme is being accelerated so all adults in the UK should be offered a jag by the end of July.

The announcement, made by the UK Government, is being seen as a sign of increased confidence that supplies of vaccine will remain steady over the coming months.

Adults aged 50 and over – as well as those with underlying health conditions which put them at a higher risk – will be offered a vaccine by April 15 under the new plans.

By July 31, all adults should have been offered a jag – though the order of priority for those under 50 has yet to be outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Last night, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Scotland’s Covid-19 vaccination programme is now delivering ahead of our expectations, maximising protection levels, thanks to the enormous efforts of vaccination teams across the country.

“Our aim is to vaccinate as many people as possible with both their first and second doses. Subject to vaccine supply, we will reach the whole of the JCVI priority list by early May, with the rest of the adult population following thereafter.”

Yesterday a further 803 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Scotland in the last 24 hours, while 29 deaths were recorded.

It brings the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – to 6945.

The test positivity rate stood at 4.6% and 102 people were in hospital with recently-confirmed Covid-19.

A total of 1,412,643 Scots had received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, an increase of 26,491 from the previous day.

Yesterday national clinical director professor Jason Leitch said it was welcome that Scotland had the lowest rate of Covid in the UK – but added it was “still too high”.

“We have been the lowest in the UK for almost a year, but our number is still above 100 per 100,000,” he said.

“The [World Health Organisation] say for the beginning of control you should be below 50 and the next target is below 20.”

From tomorrow, children in pre-school nurseries and P1 to P3 are to return as part of a phased return to schools in Scotland. Leitch said there would be an assessment after three weeks to how that had impacted Covid prevalence across the country.

He added: “Then there will be a further set of decisions made about who comes next. But the Education Minister has made it clear it is kids first before we get back as adults to some of the things we have missed.”

The Scottish Government is due to publish its road map out of lockdown this week.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said last Tuesday that a “revised strategic framework” for easing coronavirus restrictions was in progress.

She told MSPs: “It will aim to set out how we will use and balance all the tools at our disposal – restrictions and advice, vaccination, Test and Protect, and travel restrictions – to restore, on a phased basis, greater normality to our everyday lives.

“It will set out as far as possible the conditions that need to be met, in terms of the data, for us to start lifting restrictions. And it will detail the broad order of priority for reopening, including what a return to a geographic levels approach might look, like in due course.”

The Prime Minister will announce the new targets for the vaccine rollout to MPs tomorrow.

He said: “We will now aim to offer a jab to every adult by the end of July, helping us protect the most vulnerable sooner, and take further steps to ease some of the restrictions in place.”

Johnson added the route out of lockdown will be “cautious and phased”.