Nicola Sturgeon has admitted Scotland will receive half a million fewer vaccine doses that previously expected in the next month or so.
The First Minister said the supply issue wouldn't affect the vaccine rollout for those in the top priority groups and scheduled to get the jag by mid April.
However those under 50 may have to wait, with Sturgeon saying the Scottish Government may have to change their plan and prioritise more second doses throughout next month than first doses.
She said: "At present we expect that over the next month we will have approximately 500,000 fewer doses than we had previously anticipated.
"For that reason there may be periods in April where we need to prioritise second doses.
"However, I want to be clear today that we do still expect to offer a first dose of the vaccine to the remaining JCVI priority groups by the middle of next month as planned... we also still expect to have offered a first dose to all adults in the population by the end of July."
We'll have everything from Friday's update, along with all the latest news, right here.
Scroll down for all the latest updates.
Today's update
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will hold a virtual coronavirus briefing with national clinical director Jason Leitch at 12.15pm today.
We'll bring you all the latest updates from the briefing right here.
Police will make arrests if there are gatherings post Old Firm match
Police have warned they will make arrests if there are mass gatherings after the Old Firm game on Sunday.
Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said a "significant policing operation" will be in place if the match goes ahead, after thousands of Rangers fans breached lockdown rules to gather in the streets of Glasgow after their side were confirmed as Scottish Premiership champions on March 7.
He said clubs have acted "really, really responsibly" to convey the stay at home message to fans, and he urged supporters to behave in a responsible manner.
A final decision has not yet been made on whether the game at Celtic Park will go ahead, but Mr Higgins said he is hopeful it can take place.
He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "Since we saw the scenes in George Square a couple of weeks ago, ourselves, the Scottish Government and the clubs have done everything within our power to continually reinforce the message to both sets of fans that actually to stop the spread of this terrible, terrible disease people need to stay at home and not get involved in mass gatherings.
"So far we've had a really positive response so we're hopeful that the game will go ahead, but both sets of fans need to act in a responsible manner and stay at home and watch the game on television."
UK Government's coronavirus certificates plan
Coronavirus certificates are being considered as a way of getting fans back to larger events "in significant numbers", according to the UK Culture Secretary.
Oliver Dowden said that ministers were reviewing the possibility of introducing a document providing proof that a person has either been vaccinated against the virus or tested negative.
Mr Dowden said this could be used as part of the drive to return to normality, as he emphasised the importance of getting crowds back into stadiums and theatres this summer for the future of these industries.
Under the Government's current plans for easing restrictions, crowds of up to 10,000 in the largest venues could be allowed at performances and sporting events from May 17.
It is hoped that all remaining restrictions on larger events and performances could be lifted from June 21, which is the earliest date for all legal limits on social contact to be removed.
Rebuilding confidence in Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine
Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford vaccine group, said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) calling the AstraZeneca vaccine safe and effective would help "rebuild confidence".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "This is incredibly reassuring, the processes are working, the safety monitoring that we all expect from our authorities is happening.
"This is extremely good news and we should be reassured that process is working exactly and moving along exactly as it should.
"I think what they have very clearly stated is that we absolutely are confident in use of the vaccine, that it's not associated with the blood clots as was originally raised.
"We're really not in a battle with each other or the vaccine, we're battling a ruthless killer that within the European Union has killed 600,000 people in the past year."
Vaccine supply difficulties 'inevitable'
Vaccine supply chain difficulties are "inevitable" and the public's confidence has not been affected, a former chief scientific adviser to the UK Government has said.
Professor Sir Mark Walport told Times Radio: "All the evidence is that the vaccines are being rolled out at an extraordinary rate.
"We should cross 26 million people having received their first dose of vaccine today and that includes a large majority of the most vulnerable people.
"It has been an extraordinary effort and these are vaccines that are being rolled out at a pace and scale that's never been done before so it's almost inevitable that from time to time there will be supply chain difficulties."
However, Sir Mark said the UK's confidence in the vaccine has not been affected "significantly".
He added: "We can see there's much more vaccine hesitancy in Europe."
Fashion experts expect masks to become a staple of our wardrobes
Fashionable face masks will be as much of a wardrobe staple as shoes and handbags for the foreseeable future, style experts have said.
Novelty and "outlandish" clothing could also feature on the streets as the lockdown is eased, after a year which saw most people dressed down in comfortable loungewear at home.
Scientists have said some form of social distancing, including mask-wearing, may need to continue into 2022 even with effective vaccines, amid repeated warnings that the virus will not simply go away.
Faith leaders on move to 'online worship'
Faith leaders have hailed the switch to online worship and communication as they recalled the "enormous challenge" they faced having to close religious buildings in the UK's first lockdown one year ago.
Some aspects such as the option to stream weddings and funerals online for family and friends unable to attend in person will continue long after the pandemic has passed, they added.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis declared "thank God for Zoom" as he recalled the "unprecedented situation" of March 2020, describing the closure of synagogues as "one of the biggest decisions I have needed to take, absolutely".
He told the PA news agency: "All of our congregations throughout the UK, by themselves, adapted instantly, and immediately recognised the significance of being in touch with people electronically, the online communication - thank God for Zoom and for other methods through which we can engage with people."
He said among the lessons learned within the faith were how to use digital communication to its full extent, adding: "We certainly will continue to use these well after Covid times."
Prime Minister to get Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine today
The Prime Minister is due to receive his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a host of European countries announced they would return to using the jab following fresh safety assurances.
A slew of countries, including Germany and France, reversed their decision to temporarily pause its use over blood clot concerns after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) called the vaccine "safe and effective".
Boris Johnson is due to receive the AstraZeneca jab when he is given his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on Friday.
France, Italy and Germany, along with Cyprus, Latvia and Lithuania, have confirmed they will resume rollout of the Oxford shot on Friday, while Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands said they will follow suit next week, although Spain said it could exclude certain groups.
However Norway, Sweden and Denmark have said they will continue their hold on the AstraZeneca jab, despite the EMA's ruling.
All three countries said the pause would continue while they conduct their own independent reviews of the jab's safety.
EU Medicines Agency rules AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective
Edinburgh expert Linda Bauld shared the news earlier.
https://twitter.com/LindaBauld/status/1372582346579451905
'No link' between blood clots and vaccine
Five men in the UK have suffered an "extremely rare" blood clot problem after having the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, though no causal link with the jab has been established, the medicines regulator has said.
The men, aged 19 to 59, have experienced a specific type of blood clot in the brain together with low blood platelet count. One of the five has since died.
There are no details yet on whether any of them had underlying health conditions.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it was looking at the reports but stressed the events were "extremely rare" and there was a possibility they could have been caused by Covid itself.
It said the cases represented a less than one-in-a-million chance of suffering this type of clot among those who have been vaccinated, while the risk of dying from Covid aged 40 to 49 is one in 1,000.
AstraZeneca praised by UK Health Secretary for passing up profit
Matt Hancock praised AstraZeneca for making the decision to offer the vaccine around the world at cost, without taking a profit from it.
He told the Commons: "The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine was developed because of UK taxpayers putting the funding into the science, to the development, to the clinical trials and because of AstraZeneca, with an incredibly bold and generous decision which we fully support but was their decision, to offer this vaccine around the world at cost.
"Working with institutes, like the Serum Institute of India, Oxford and AstraZeneca are providing a vaccine for the whole world. They are not taking a profit from it, we are very proud of that fact.
"And that makes this materially different to other vaccines which have been developed for commercial advantage, I am not against that at all, but let's celebrate what AstraZeneca have done and it only underlines how important it is for everybody to work together in order to keep their populations safe."
Full story: Scotland will have vaccine shortage of 500,000 doses
Nicola Sturgeon says that the priority groups set to receive their vaccine by the middle of May won't be affected by today's news of a shortage of half a million doses.
Full story can be found below.
Fewer doses than anticipated
The First Minister says Scotland is likely to receive 500,000 fewer vaccine doses than anticipated.
This is unlikely to affect the rollout for the first nine priority groups, but will have an impact during phase two of the vaccine programme in April.
Update on latest figures
Scotland has recorded seven deaths from coronavirusand 624 positive tests in the past 24 hours, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.
It brings the death toll under this measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - to 7,536.
Speaking ahead of First Minister's Questions, she told MSPs 211,854 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 211,230 on Tuesday.
The daily test positivity rate is 2.7%, down from 3% on the previous day.
There are 405 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, down 17 in 24 hours, and 38 patients are in intensive care, no change on the previous day.
WHO director says benefits of AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine far outweigh the risks
The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine "far outweigh the risks", a senior director for the World Health Organisation has said, as multiple European countries continue a suspension of its use.
Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said it was "routine to signal adverse events" but people should "have confidence" in the protection given by vaccines.
"The Covid-19 vaccination will not reduce death or illness from other causes," he told a press briefing on Thursday.
"As of now we do not know whether some or all of the conditions have been caused by the vaccine or by other coincidental factors.
"At this point in time, the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine far outweigh its risk and its use should continue to save lives."
It comes as more than a dozen countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway and Denmark have suspended use of the AstraZeneca jab pending further investigation into adverse side effects.
Vaccines may be more effective against Brazil variant than previously thought
The vaccines from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech may be more effective against the P1 Brazil variant of coronavirusthan previously thought, a new study suggests.
Research from Oxford University, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, measured the level of antibodies that can neutralise - or stop infection from - variants that are circulating in South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere.
It found that vaccines do not work as well against the variants as against the original strain of coronavirus, but that the P1 Brazilian variant may be less resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies than first feared.
Professor Gavin Screaton, lead scientist on the study, said: "This study extends our understanding the role of changes in the spike protein in escape from the human immune response, measured as neutralising antibody levels. The results suggest that P1 might be less resistant to vaccine and convalescent immune responses than B1351 (South Africa), and similar to B117 (Kent)."
Vaccine delay will affect those in their 40s and younger
People in their 40s and younger face delays in getting their Covid-19 vaccine after problems with a shipment of the AstraZeneca jab from India impacted the UK's supply.
Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick conceded that the rollout of vaccines would be slower than expected because of the shortage, while Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said vaccination of those aged under 50 "may kick off slightly later than we'd optimistically hoped".
A delay in the delivery of five million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine from India is partly to blame for a forthcoming reduction in the UK's supply.
The delivery had been expected from the Serum Institute of India but has been held up by four weeks.
Kate Garraway on her husband's Covid battle
Kate Garraway says husband Derek Draper, who remains in hospital after getting coronavirus, "surfed the crest of a very grim wave".
Draper, 53, was admitted to hospital in March last year, when he was placed in an induced coma.
Garraway said that when she began making her documentary on Covid-19 she hoped "that more recovery would be possible.
"That hasn't been the case."
In the documentary, Garraway talks about how her family has been forced to adjust to a new way of life and meets others who have been suffering because of Covid.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she said of Draper catching coronavirus before improvements were made in treatment: "Unfortunately Derek was surfing the crest of a very grim wave."
Garraway's documentary looks at "the very, very long tail that Covid has.
"Obviously Derek is an extreme example and we don't want to scare people with what he's been through," she said.
"But there are many other people who have got versions of it and still not enough is known about the impact of it. "
The ITV documentary, Kate Garraway: Finding Derek, airs on March 23 at 9pm.
Ikea Edinburgh announces reopening plan
Ikea has announced their plans for reopening in Edinburgh.
The retailer will welcome customers back to stores from April 5.
Works are already underway to make shops safe for customers and staff in preparation for the big day.
Full story below.
Delay in vaccine delivery from India is behind reduction in supply
A delay in the delivery of five million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine from India is thought to be behind a forthcoming reduction in the UK's supply.
The delivery had been expected from the Serum Institute of India, the BBC reported, but has been held up by four weeks.
A letter to health leaders in England, published on Wednesday, warned of a "significant reduction in weekly supply" of the vaccine from March 29, "meaning volumes for first doses will be significantly constrained".
The letter from Emily Lawson, NHS chief commercial officer, and Dr Nikita Kanani, medical director for primary care, said people "aged 49 years or younger should not be offered vaccination" unless they are in a higher priority group, such as being clinically vulnerable.
It added that the UK's vaccines taskforce predicts the shortfall will last four weeks "as a result of reductions in national inbound vaccines supply".
The Department of Health has said the Government is still on track to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July.
A spokesperson for the Serum Institute of India told the BBC: "Five million doses had been delivered a few weeks ago to the UK and we will try to supply more later, based on the current situation and the requirement for the government immunisation programme in India."
Gathering in the Meadows
Large crowds were seen gathered n the Meadows in Edinburgh last night.
The scenes were a repeat of what we saw last summer, as groups of people flocked to the area to soak up the sun.
This is despite a 'stay at home' restriction currently being in force across Scotland.
Full story below.
Pandemic shines light on DNR 'distress'
The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on how poor communication surrounding do not resuscitate orders can cause "significant distress" to people and their loved ones, a charity has said.
A new report from the charity Compassion in Dying lays bare how some people found out they had a do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) order - also sometimes referred to as DNR orders - in place by accident.
One person described finding the documentation in a suitcase after returning home from a stint in hospital.
Another only discovered her husband had the order in place when a health worker left documents on her sofa.
And a grieving daughter only found out a DNACPR had been placed on her mother hours before her death.
The report, shared with the PA news agency, has been published to coincide with a report from the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, on DNACPRs during the early part of the pandemic.
Their report highlights how many people died without their loved ones by their side and without the opportunity to be involved with decisions about their own care and treatment.
Compassion in Dying said that it received a sharp rise in calls about DNACPRs last year.
Over 65s most prone to Covid reinfection
Most people who have had coronavirus are protected from catching it again for at least six months, but those aged 65 and over are more prone to reinfection, new research suggests.
Large-scale assessment of reinfection rates in Denmark in 2020 confirms that only a small proportion of people (0.65%) returned a positive PCR test twice.
However, while prior infection gave those under the age of 65 years around 80% protection against reinfection, for people aged 65 and older it only gave 47% protection, indicating that they are more likely to catch Covid-19 again.
According to the study published in The Lancet, the researchers detected no evidence that protection against reinfection declined within a six-month follow-up period.
Dr Steen Ethelberg, from the Statens Serum Institut, Denmark, said: "Our study confirms what a number of others appeared to suggest: reinfection with Covid-19 is rare in younger, healthy people, but the elderly are at greater risk of catching it again.
"Since older people are also more likely to experience severe disease symptoms, and sadly die, our findings make clear how important it is to implement policies to protect the elderly during the pandemic.
"Given what is at stake, the results emphasise how important it is that people adhere to measures implemented to keep themselves and others safe, even if they have already had Covid-19.
"Our insights could also inform policies focused on wider vaccination strategies and the easing of lockdown restrictions."
Vaccine appointments rearranged after letter problem
A number of coronavirus vaccinations have had to be rearranged after a problem with letter deliveries.
NHS National Services Scotland has apologised after appointments for Monday were missed in the Lothian area following the late arrival of invitation letters.
Anyone who missed an appointment will automatically receive another in the week starting Monday March 22.
The statement said: "The national programme would like to apologise to any resident who missed an appointment and for any inconvenience caused.
"Although the vast majority of vaccination appointments run smoothly, the national delivery partners met today to build a better understanding of what happened on this occasion.
"We are working closely together to ensure we give people the advance notice they need for vital vaccination appointments."
The joint apology was signed by NHS National Services Scotland, Royal Mail, NHS Lothian and the National Delivery Programme.
Threat to halt vaccine export to UK
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has threatened to halt the export of coronavirus vaccines to the UK amid an ongoing row over the supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.
The European Commission president criticised the British-Swedish firm on Wednesday for having "underproduced and underdelivered" to the bloc.
And she said that the EU would consider blocking vaccine exports to countries with higher coverage rates than its own, as it struggles to achieve the pace of rollout managed elsewhere.
Under pressure and on the "crest of a third wave" of infections, Ms von der Leyen warned that she is "ready to use whatever tool we need" to ensure the reliable delivery of vaccines.
"We are exporting a lot to countries that are themselves producing vaccines and we think this is an invitation to be open, so that we also see exports from those countries coming back to the European Union," she told reporters in Brussels.
"The second point that is of importance to us: we will reflect on whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate.
"We want reliable deliveries of vaccines, we want increase in the contracts, we want to see reciprocity and proportionality in exports and we are ready to use whatever tool we need to deliver on that.
"This is about making sure that Europe gets its fair share."
When might 'work from home' guidance change?
The FM says it's still too early to say when the 'work from home'advice will change, and people should continue to work from home where possible.
As we come out of Covid there may be different working patterns that people choose. Employers and workers, there may be more of a permanent shift to working from home than there was before Covid, so that is one of the things we're going to have to assess as we go through the coming months.
On whether any potential vaccine problems could halt lockdown exit
Lockdown easing is being done broadly in line with the vaccine rollout.
The First Minister says if the supplies were to change that we were "massively" off a target they would have to take that into account. If it's a smaller amount off it woild be less of an issue.
She says these are just some of the "moving parts" they are dealing with right now.
Would the FM follow the PM in taking the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to ease concerns?
The Prime Minister is marginally older than me, so he'll be getting his vaccine before me. Only marginally older than me I think.
I'm hoping to get my vaccine over the next few weeks and I'll get it as soon as it's offered to me. I'll get it whether it's Pfizer of Oxford/AstraZeneca. I want vaccinated and I will have no hesitation if it's the Oxford AstraZeneca.
I don't know about the ethics of demanding I get one when nobody else can over the other, but I'm happy to talk to Gregor and others about whether that would appropriate.
Impact of schools returning
The 25 to 44 year old age group is the group to have seen a rise in cases, according to the Chief Medical Officer.
He adds: "As schools go back it releases parents to do more things. Some may have gone back to work, some may be taking opportunities to stop and speak to people they weren't beforehand.
"There are outbreaks in some institutions that are seeing outbreaks too."
He says people need to stick with the rules to allow this to rise and "run away from us".
Virus hasn't 'magically disappeared'
Sturgeon said: "On the uptick in cases, yes it's over 600 cases today but it's 3 per cent positivity so I would urge people not only to look at just the total number but also the percentage. Test positivity today is lower than it was yesterday even if the number of cases is higher."
She says pupils going back to school and the increased activity could be part of that.
The case numbers are a reminder that the virus hasn't magically disappeared, the FM adds.
