A shipment of 2,300 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine is expected to arrive on today’s flight from the UK.

Priority will be given to people in need of first and second doses of the jab.

But Ayo Oyinloye, the Chief Medical Officer, said eligible pupils and education staff would also be given access to the jabs to help schools reopen.

Dr Oyinloye said that the gap between the first and second doses would be doubled from three to six weeks.

He explained: “This is following recent evidence that suggests that a longer interval between doses increased the amount of immunity.”

Kim Wilson, the health minister, outlined figures for hospital admissions and deaths from Covid-19 across the 37 weeks of the vaccination campaign.

She said that, out of 183 hospital patients, 92.3 per cent were not fully vaccinated – and out of 30 deaths, 86.7 per cent had not been immunised.

Ms Wilson added that women made up 52 per cent of the 86,676 vaccinations administered up to September 18, with men on 48 per cent.

She said 83.8 per cent of people aged over 65 had been given at least one jab and 82.6 per cent were fully vaccinated.

Almost 68 per cent of the population has been given one shot of the vaccine and 66.2 per cent had been given both doses.

Ms Wilson said booster vaccines were expected to be available “very soon”.

She added immunosuppressed people would get top priority, followed by people aged over 65, then healthcare and other essential workers and people aged over 50.

Ms Wilson said appointments for booster shots were not being scheduled at present.