Paediatric doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will not be available after today, according to the health department.

Current stocks of the vaccine — which has been available to children from the age of 5 since February — will expire at the end of this month, while the shelf life of adult doses expires at the end of June. The Government has said that it has no plans to order more supplies from Britain until the autumn.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health said that 74.4 per cent of the population had been “fully immunised” after receiving two doses of the virus, and the vast majority of those had also had a booster jab.

The spokeswoman confirmed that its mass vaccination programme had shut down, although the drug was still available from a number of private practices. The government-run Hamilton Health Centre is also administering the vaccine, although as of press time, there were no time slots available on its website through to the end of June.

The spokeswoman said: “Although the Government's mass vaccination programme has ended, there are plenty of vaccines on the island, and the current supply of adult vaccines we have expires at the end of June.

“Paediatric doses are still available on the island and will expire at the end of May. The Government will order more vaccines in the autumn.

“All GPs and pharmacies have been invited by the Ministry of Health to participate in administering the Covid vaccine to residents. Some have begun, while others intend to do so soon.”

More than 132,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered since the programme began in January, 2021.

According to the latest figures, 87 per cent of all residents over the age of 65 have had at least one vaccination, and 85.8 per cent have had two shots.

To date, 75.8 per cent of the population has received one dose, and 74.4 per cent of the population have had two shots.

A further 70.4 per cent of those eligible for a booster have received their booster, and 10.8 per cent of those with a booster have received a second booster dose.

The spokeswoman said: “This widely publicised free vaccination programme has been our best defence against this pandemic.

“Of note, those persons eligible for the second booster were contacted directly. The Ministry of Health also provided extensive announcements on the eligibility of the boosters, encouraging those eligible to take advantage of the free boosters before the mass vaccination programme ended.“

To view a list of private healthcare providers offering the vaccine, visit here.