SCOTLAND is facing a shortfall of half a million vaccine doses, Nicola Sturgeon has announced, but the country is still expected to hit the key priority group targets.

The First Minister, providing a coronavirus update in the Scottish Parliament, addressed reports from England that the UK is having trouble with vaccine supplies.

She has held talks with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca and confirmed Scotland is expected to received 500,000 fewer doses than expected next month.

However, the Government is still on track to complete its aim of offering a first dose to everyone in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority groups by mid-April – including all over-50s, unpaid carers and all adults with particular underlying health conditions.

Holyrood ministers also remain confident that every adult in Scotland will be offered an initial jag by mid-July.

In the meantime, there will be periods when second doses are prioritised due to the shortage.

READ MORE: 'Significant drop' in UK's vaccine supplies put down to delayed shipment

Sturgeon confirmed another seven people have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19 in the previous 28 days, bringing the total to 7536.

A further 624 cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 2.7%.

Some 405 people are in hospital with recently confirmed coronavirus, a decrease of 17. Of those, 38 are in intensive care, marking no change in 24 hours.

The National: Coronavirus testing

The First Minister told MSPs: "Now, we've always known that supplies will be subject to some volatility, but the rollout of the programme overall continues to be encouraging, and it does give us real cause for optimism now about the months ahead.

"It's because of that that we've been able to provide more details about our plans for easing restrictions, and of course, it's because of that that we have some reason to hope for a return to a more normal life over the course of the summer."

She urged everyone in Scotland to accept their vaccine appointment when invited.

Her announcement comes after A leaked letter to health leaders in England warned of a "significant reduction in weekly supply" of the vaccine from March 29, "meaning volumes for first doses will be significantly constrained".

The shortfall has been attributed to a delay in the delivery of five million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jag from India.

The shipment had been expected from the Serum Institute of India, the BBC reported, but has been held up by four weeks.

In total, more than two million people have now received their first vaccine dose in Scotland, with another 41,184 people getting their jag in the past 24 hours.

In addition, 192,100 people have had a second dose, an increase of 51,405 in 24 hours.

Sturgeon added: "Virtually all over 65-year-olds have now had a first dose. So too have 74% of 60 to 64-year-olds, 44% of 55 to 59-year-olds, and 35% of 50 to 54-year-olds."

The First Minister went on to announce that the R number – the reproduction rate of the virus – is "is around or just below 1".