People with a history of blood clots are said to be facing vaccine delays because of concerns over the suitability of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

One 55-year-old says she will wait an additional six weeks for her first jag because nurses expressed some reservations about giving her the vaccine and did not have an alternative.

The patient, who attended her first appointment at the Hydro in Glasgow yesterday, said she had previously been advised not to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) because of her medical history.

It emerged yesterday that the EU Commission may not renew its vaccine contracts next year with companies such as Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) after EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to extend the bloc's contract with Pfizer stretching to 2023.

READ MORE: Blood clots linked to vacccines 'extraordinarily rare' events

Denmark has ceased giving the vaccine amid concerns about rare cases of blood clots, the first European country to do so fully.

The move is expected to delay the country's vaccination programme by several weeks.

Drug watchdog the European Medicines Agency last week announced a possible link with clots but said the risk of dying of Covid-19 was much greater. 

An NHS spokeswoman said patients should be assessed individually "based on clinical need."

While the woman's GP has said she does not 'see her as a risk', she said she was uneasy about taking the Oxford vaccine, given the nurse's concerns.

She said: "The nurse asked if I had a history of blood clots so I explained that to her and she said she only had the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"She asked me what did I think and I told her I didn't feel safe and she said she totally agreed with me but she said it was up to me.

READ MORE: Sister of solicitor who died after having AstraZeneca vaccine urges others to take it

"I asked her why there wasn't an alternative and she said they only have what they get delivered on that day. She said they had had people in three or four times who have been in the same position.

"They know this is happening, so surely they should have an alternative to offer. I'm just not willing to take the risk."

She said she was told by call handlers at NHS Inform that there was no alternative appointments until May 37.

She claims that they attributed this to dealing with a high number of appointments for young carers.

She said: "I could turn up in six weeks and there is no guarantee that an alternative will be there."

A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “Individual decisions on the use of any particular vaccine are based on clinical need. 

“If a patient is clinically assessed as requiring a particular vaccine and this is not available within the vaccination centre, we will look to rearrange their appointment as quickly as possible within vaccine availability constraints.

"We will look to rearrange as quickly as possible, but this could take two to three weeks because of volume availability of supplies."