The Isle of Wight NHS Trust has apologised after its Covid-19 vaccination appointment booking system was 'shared more widely than was appropriate'.

It issued a statement on its website yesterday (Saturday) to say steps had been taken to 'rectify the situation'.

A number of people who are not in the priority groups tried to book appointments.

NHS and Social Care staff on the Isle of Wight are among those in the top tiers who are eligible for a coronavirus jab.

Others allowed to have the vaccination first are Islanders aged over 70 years old and those who are clinically vulnerable.

The CCG is leading community vaccinations - using the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, while the NHS Trust is administering the tricky-to-store Pfizer BioNTech doses.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Hospital vaccination hub staff are working round the clock, said the Isle of Wight NHS Trust.

However it said it had taken action after a number of people tried to book a slot even though they were not in the government's priority groups.

The Trust said: "Unfortunately our booking information was shared more widely than was appropriate and a number of people who are not on the Government’s priority list attempted to book slots for their first dose of the vaccine.

"We took immediate steps to rectify the situation and would like to apologise for the confusion caused."

Last week Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS England regional medical director for London, told a government press conference that he was 'horrified' to hear that people in London had tried to jump the queue by booking without an invitation.

He called it 'morally reprehensible' that “unscrupulous people” were looking to secure a vaccination before their turn.

It came after reports that links to the Swiftqueue system, which is used to book jabs for NHS staff, were being shared online.

According to the latest data, 958,189 doses of coronavirus vaccine have been given out in the South East, including 881,901 first doses and 76,288 second doses.