Some Islanders aged under 40 are still struggling to get Covid-19 vaccination appointments, the County Press has been told.

A 37-year-old Ventnor woman got a text calling her forward in May, but has only been offered slots in Portsmouth and Southampton via the NHS online booking system and 119.

The problem appears to have been made worse by a postcode lottery.

Her brother, who is three years younger and lives in Cowes, has already been offered his jab, via his doctor.

The inconsistency has led her to slam the system as a 'total mess.'

Meanwhile, a 37-year-old from The Bay area said there was a 'major flaw' in the system.

She said: "Lots of people, including me, have given up hope and are travelling to the mainland for an appointment.

"I've been trying the NHS website and 119 as advised, continuously, for weeks.

"At some Island surgeries, people in their 20s are being vaccinated."

The women are not alone in their experiences.

Scores of Islanders are reporting that only mainland appointments are available, since government advice changed and the Oxford AstraZeneca jab was no longer advised for those aged 18-39.

It has been the only vaccine to have been handed out at the Isle of Wight's main injection hubs, because the alternative Pfizer BioNTech version is much more difficult to store.

The Moderna jab, though approved in the UK, is not being given out on the Isle of Wight and a fourth option, the single dose Johnson and Johnson, has only just been approved.

"Under 40s are being left out," the Ventnor resident told the Isle of Wight County Press.

"I know people that did manage to book an appointment for their jab, at the Riverside Centre, only to be turned away when they arrived because they only stock the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine."

Concerns have been heightened by the spread of a Covid-19 variant that originated in India, which is now the dominant strain in some parts of the country, combined with a surge in summer tourism.

Health bosses are advising Islanders to wait until they are called by their GP, but in Sandown, The Bay medical centre has now stopped delivering vaccinations, according to the Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group.

Instead, registered patients will be sent to alternative sites.