NICOLA Sturgeon has warned that Scotland's supplies of the Covid-19 vaccine will “slightly dip” later this month as officials draw up plans to prioritise second doses of the jag to be administered.

The First Minister issued the warning as she announced that 928,122 people in Scotland have now received their first dose of the inoculation – which she described as a “pretty whopping increase” of 61,299 jags administered since the previous day, the highest daily tally so far.

Ms Sturgeon stressed that the programme remains on track for everybody over 70 and those with a serious clinical vulnerability to have received their first dose by February 15.

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But she warned that “we expect, over the second part of February, our supplies coming into Scotland to slightly dip for a period”, warning that it “will be a UK-wide issue”.

She added: “We’ll have to think about the balance of doses that we have available that go to second doses versus the additional people we want to give first doses to.”

The Herald previously reported that Scotland’s national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, warned that the rollout of first doses will have to slow and “stockpiled” in order to ensure that everyone can be given their second dose within the 12-week timeframe.

READ MORE: Warning vaccine programme will need to slow to 'stockpile' second doses

Professor Leitch said that “Pfizer deciding to temporarily close some of its production line in order to move its production line to greater capacity” to bolster productivity of the vaccine, will interrupt supplies.

The First Minister added: “We still plan to and are on track to have vaccinated everybody in the JCVI priority list – that's everybody aged over 50 and those with underlying health conditions, by the start of May.

“The precise phasing of that, we will set out over the course of the next couple of weeks when we have done the modelling on the supplies that we expect to have available and what balance of those will have to go to first doses versus second doses.”

The First Minister stressed that officials “are planning to have everybody with their second dose within 12 weeks”.

She added: “We are planning to have everybody with their second dose within 12 weeks. My understand is if it goes beyond 12 weeks, there’s no clinical impact to that but we want to give everybody their dose within 12 weeks.

“Health boards will have started the planning for second doses – that will have been done in a phasing to make sure people are done within that 12-week period.

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“As we go into the later half of February as the second doses programme starts to kick in at a time our supplies might be dipping, we’ll have to set out more then about the balance between second doses and additional first doses. That's what, as we get clearer visibility on supplies, we’ll be able to set out some detail.”

Professor Leitch said that the 110 million doses promise to the UK “are coming” but warned “we’re just not sure they're going to come in an even every Tuesday box”.

He added: “We want to get the second dose to everybody who’s had the first dose within 12 weeks. There will, of course, be a bit of a margin. You don’t have to have it on the exact 12-week anniversary of your first injection.

“We will give care homes and health boards a margin of error up to 12 weeks.

“We’ve now vaccinated a whole load of people who have to have that second dose. The advice is to do that at or around 12 weeks.”

Professor Leitch insisted it will be “absolutely fine” if people receive their second dose a couple of days beyond 12 weeks.

He added: “If it’s just a couple of days because for bad weather or somebody has to postpone for some reason, you will come to no clinical harm and your protection will be good.”