of the immigration system expected to be set out next week. one of the places which has been suggested is gibraltar, we'll be speaking to the territory's chief minister, fabian picardo in the next half an hour. hundreds of patients in england may have had "do not resuscitate" decisions placed on them during the pandemic, without them or theirfamilies knowing. the care regulator calls for urgent action. tanzania mourns the death of it's covid—sceptic president, john magufuli, amid rumours he'd contracted the virus hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the uk government is facing questions over why there's to be a significant reduction in covid vaccine supplies from the end of this month. it is understood a delivery of millions of doses of the oxford—astrazeneca jab, produced by the serum institute of india, has been held up by four weeks. after opening up appointments to all over—50s on wednesday, nhs england says jabs should now not be offered to younger age groups throughout april, meaning healthy people in their 40s will have to wait till may. the health secretary, matt hancock, said there was always going to be ups and downs in availability, but labour has accused him of trying to downplay the issue. at the same time, the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, has threatened to restrict covid vaccine exports to some countries, including the uk, if supplies in the eu don't improve. she said the eu was still waiting for vaccines to be delivered from the uk. also today, the eu's drugs regulator is due to present the findings of its investigation into the safety of the astrazeneca covid vaccine. several countries have temporarily stopped using the jab after blood clots were reported in a small number of inoculated people. and the health secretary has confirmed more than 3.7 million vulnerable people in england will no longer have to shield from the coronavirus from april 1st, as cases and hospitalisations continue to fall. more on all these stories to follow. this first report from jim reed. another step closer to normality. afternoon, you all right? at gps like this one in lincolnshire, thousands have been given their vaccines this week. there you go — done. that it? that's it. in total, more than 25 million have now beenjabbed. for the next fortnight, there should be plenty of doses to go round. after that, though, there is more doubt. a letter sent by the nhs to local health services warned of a significant reduction in supply next month, and said no further appointments for first doses should be uploaded to booking systems in april. vaccine supply is always lumpy, and we regularly send out technical letters to the nhs to explain the ups and downs of the supply over the future weeks. it's thought the late delivery of batches of the astrazeneca vaccine manufactured at a plant in india are to blame for the shortfall. nobody who has an appointment should lose their slot, but this may delay the roll—out to the next age group down — those in their 40s — by perhaps as much as a month. it comes as the european commission suggested it could block exports of the pfizer vaccine to the uk, unless otherjabs are sent back across the channel in return. meanwhile, 13 eu states have still suspended the use of the astrazeneca shot over concerns about rare blood clots. an investigation into that by the eu medicines agency is due to report back this afternoon. keeping up the pace of vaccine supply is crucial if the government is going to stick to its road map out of lockdown. the recent fall in infections means that almost four million vulnerable people in england have now been told they no longer need to shield from next month. the reason we've done that is because the rates of community infection have now dropped a long way and they've been sustained. and we recognise that actually advising people to shield for more than about 12 weeks can be really quite damaging for their mental health. so i think good news for all of them. as for the vaccine programme, the government said supply of the jabs will vary over time, but it remains on track to offer a first dose to all over—50s in england by mid—april, and all adults by the end ofjuly. jim reed, bbc news. the eu's medicines regulator is expected to deliver its findings in a few hours�* time on the safety of the astrazeneca vaccine. germany initially dismissed concerns from some european countries — saying there was no evidence to link the vaccine and blood clots — but then, earlier this weekjoined several other governments and suspended its use. our berlin correspondent, jenny hill, explains why the german government took the decision and what the consequences might be. is germany playing it too safe? infection�*s spreading fast here — cases rising in newly reopened kindergartens. nursery workers have been pushed up the vaccination priority list. izabela and her staff were offered the astrazeneca jab. translation: i think it's devastating. - three of us were vaccinated on sunday. two others would have had it today, but that was cancelled. even if they reapprove it, my colleagues don't want to have it now. germany dismissed concerns about astrazeneca and blood clotting from other countries — it's used 1.6 million doses. but then it emerged seven people here have developed a rare type of blood clot on the brain within days of receiving the jab. experts say, statistically, they'd expect around one. the cases are deemed so severe — three people died — that the government argues it would be irresponsible not to pause the programme. translation: in my view, it's better if we suspend for a few days, - get a better view of the situation, and talk to our european partners. then we can say with certainty how we will proceed. some in germany weren't keen on astrazeneca in the first place — in part because the government initially blocked its use in older people. but this country, which has given just 8% of its population a first dose of vaccine, is relying on it. "there are always risks," he says. "you don't know how many people will die now "because they aren't vaccinated." she says, "they've got to check it. "the government's trying its best." germany is under pressure, in the grip of a third wave. at this night shelter for homeless people, staff were due to start vaccinating their residents yesterday — with astrazeneca. translation: it is very sad | for the people who live here. many of them are at risk, vulnerable. so it would be good if they could be vaccinated as fast as possible, and the same for the staff. we don't know when or if we can start again, so we're uncertain. it's a shame. the german government says this wasn't a political decision, and it's hard to see what the gain would be. more than 200 people are dying every day here from covid, and public dissatisfaction is growing. ministers insist this was about inspiring trust — it may be they've achieved quite the opposite. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. earlier, i spoke to our europe correspondentjean mackenzie who explained more about the scope of the investigation into these cases. and the decision by the european regulator as to whether they will give approval to the astrazeneca vaccine to continue. ..vaccinated reported blood clots. let's talk to our europe correspondent, jean mackenzie, she is outside the ema in amsterdam. tell us about the scope of the investigation that has been going on into these cases. 17 million people so far in the eu and uk have had the astrazeneca vaccine, and there have been fewer than a0 cases reported of blood clots. so what the european drugs regulator has been doing over the past few days is looking at each of those reported cases very carefully to see if it can establish any link between the vaccine and the blood clotting. because, at the moment, there is no evidence to suggest the two are linked. it gave out an initial assessment on tuesday when it said that so far there was no indication that the vaccine was causing the clotting. but we will find out later today whether it has found anything, the indication at the moment is that it hasn't. it has urged countries, as has the world health organization, to carry on using the vaccine saying that at the moment, the benefits very clearly outweigh the risks. but for those countries where there has been opposing the use of the astrazeneca jab, if the ema later on today says there is no issue here, do you expect those countries to quickly start using it again? certainly so. a number of countries have already said that if it gets the all clear here today, there are no problems, they will immediately start to use it again. some of these countries of this has been about trust. they say that they know that trust is an issue here in europe with people taking the vaccine, they wanted to make absolutely sure, this was a precautionary measure that they could say to people, "this vaccine is safe." and once they get the all clear, if they get the all clear, they will start using it again. but of course, there have been some who have questioned whether they should have pressed the pause before they had that evidence, given that we know every day this vaccine is saving many lives. let's get more on the vaccine row between the eu and uk. peter liese is a german mep who sits on the public health committee in the european parliament. very good to have you with us on bbc news. this has very rapidly become an issue that is causing great difficulty between the relationship of the uk and the eu. give us your take on where the discussions are. yeah, i would wish we were in another situation and we would all have enough vaccine and no doubt about the quality of safety of no vaccine. we have to deal with this issue as it stands. and unfortunately the german authorities discovered that the astrazeneca vaccine is linked, if it is the cause, we don't know, but of a higher incidence of a serious disease which is life—threatening. we all have to look at this together and i am convinced that the british authorities will also look at this. who amongst other regulators, the medicines regulator here in the uk and others have said that there is absolutely no higher incidence of people having blood clots who have had this vaccine compared to those who would have a blood clot without having a vaccine. they are saying it is perfectly safe to use. that is a secondary issue apart from the row of vaccine supply. a number of countries in the eu have paused using the astrazeneca vaccine. we cannot using the astrazeneca vaccine. - cannot easily set it aside. using the astrazeneca vaccine. we cannot easily set it aside. i - using the astrazeneca vaccine. we cannot easily set it aside. i do - cannot easily set it aside. i do want to come _ cannot easily set it aside. i do want to come back _ cannot easily set it aside. i do want to come back to - cannot easily set it aside. i do want to come back to that. i was primarily expecting to talk to about vaccine supply as opposed to blood clotting. we will come back to that. i'm not setting it aside entirely. i wonder how dependent is the eu on the astrazeneca vaccine specifically? it the astrazeneca vaccine specifically?— the astrazeneca vaccine specifically? the astrazeneca vaccine secificall ? , ., specifically? it is part of the eumpean — specifically? it is part of the european vaccine _ specifically? it is part of the european vaccine strategy l specifically? it is part of the i european vaccine strategy and specifically? it is part of the - european vaccine strategy and that is why this incident and i hope we will see that the vaccine is safe at least for the biggest part of the population, and then we need to continue the vaccination. there is the other issue of the dramatic shortage of astrazeneca compared to what they promised in their treaties. and here is another issue we have so—called european german vaccine that was developed in germany with german state money. this has been exported to the world. it is going at a large—scale to the united kingdom but also to canada, mexico and unfortunately in the european union is confronted with export bans by the united states mac a very strange situation would astrazeneca when it comes to the uk. we export vaccine to many european countries outside of the european union, but we don't receive the vaccine in reverse and that is a challenge which we have to address. do you think mistakes have been made in trying to co—ordinate the buying of vaccines, ensuring there is a supply chain of vaccine coming into the eu, that mistakes have been made in doing it in a pan eu way and it would have been betterfor individual countries to look after their individual citizens? a, individual countries to look after their individual citizens? a mistake has been made, _ their individual citizens? a mistake has been made, it _ their individual citizens? a mistake has been made, it is _ their individual citizens? a mistake has been made, it is very - their individual citizens? a mistake has been made, it is very clear. . has been made, it is very clear. there are some countries, especially eastern european countries that did not want to invest enough in the bionic tack. we were all reacting to donald trump. in october the us, in december, sorry, the us did a vaccine band. —— a vaccine ban. it is not possible for us to get any vaccine from the united states and the european union does not get any vaccine from the uk. the european union and the rest of the world should be much more outspoken in this situation. i am in favour of free trade, of cooperation, but it cannot be possible that there is only trade in one direction. it must be both ways and that is what we expect. the second best option is an export ban by the european union. i hope we can avoid this. it is export ban by the european union. i hope we can avoid this.— hope we can avoid this. it is a dire situation when _ hope we can avoid this. it is a dire situation when you _ hope we can avoid this. it is a dire situation when you are _ hope we can avoid this. it is a dire situation when you are talking - hope we can avoid this. it is a dire l situation when you are talking about an export band in this case being the second best option. the uk government has said it is going to try to get vaccines to other countries. i want to come back to the safety issue around astrazeneca. i was absolutely not setting it aside. the who has said, and the europe director says the benefits of astrazeneca's vaccine out raise any risk. it's you should continue to save lives. that is a direct quote. is in a mistake in your opinion considering that we have seen the rise of coronavirus cases in germany to have instituted this pause in the use of the vaccine when there has been a tiny number of people reporting blood clots that would probably have had the blood clots anyway? the probably have had the blood clots an a ? ~ , ., probably have had the blood clots an a ? ~ , . ._ , anyway? the who statement may be correct when — anyway? the who statement may be correct when you _ anyway? the who statement may be correct when you see _ anyway? the who statement may be correct when you see the _ anyway? the who statement may be correct when you see the whole - correct when you see the whole population. i hope we can avoid a situation where vaccinations are completely suspended for a longer time. but when we look at the cases that have been reported in germany and the authorities have been very carefully looking at it, we have use the vaccine a lot in young women which did not happen in other parts of the world. and here there is an incident that is higher than is expected in the average population. experts say it is well possible that there is a link. so the conclusion may well be, i am not the expert and i trust the advice of the european medical agency and the national authorities in germany, but the outcome may well be that it is clearly positive for the average population but there is a significant risk for women, especially younger women. it is not only blood clots. it is a serious disease. and it can be life—threatening. this has to be looked at very carefully. i will hope for a positive outcome but we cannot be naive. pare hope for a positive outcome but we cannot be naive.— cannot be naive. are any other ossible cannot be naive. are any other possible connections _ cannot be naive. are any other possible connections or - cannot be naive. are any otherj possible connections or causes cannot be naive. are any other- possible connections or causes being looked at? {iii possible connections or causes being looked at? . ., , ., , looked at? of course, that is the task of the _ looked at? of course, that is the task of the experts. _ looked at? of course, that is the task of the experts. it _ looked at? of course, that is the task of the experts. it might - looked at? of course, that is the | task of the experts. it might only be part of the production. there might be another reason for this. but the experts in germany said that it is quite possible that there is a link and that is why one has to look at this carefully. and i would hope really that as fast as possible experts will come out with some more precise analysis and say for this part of the population the benefits are still very high compared to any possible side effects, but may be for a small part of the population, it is the other way around. and then the vaccine strategy in germany may be in the uk and eu might have to be changed. for be in the uk and eu might have to be chanced. ., ,., be in the uk and eu might have to be chanced. ., y., , changed. for everyone else, if the ema sa s changed. for everyone else, if the ema says that _ changed. for everyone else, if the ema says that it _ changed. for everyone else, if the ema says that it is _ changed. for everyone else, if the ema says that it is happy - changed. for everyone else, if the ema says that it is happy with - changed. for everyone else, if the ema says that it is happy with the | ema says that it is happy with the astrazeneca vaccine, do you think the german authority should go ahead, other eu countries should go ahead, other eu countries should go ahead and say they will start to use it again? ahead and say they will start to use it auain? , ., ,., ahead and say they will start to use it auain? , . ,.,. ., it again? yes, that is a clear message — it again? yes, that is a clear message from _ it again? yes, that is a clear message from the _ it again? yes, that is a clear message from the german | it again? yes, that is a clear _ message from the german government. if the ema says it is safe or safe for everybody or save for a specific group that we will continue using the vaccination. people seeking asylum in the uk could be sent abroad while their cases are being processed. it's thought the proposals are part of a major shake—up of the immigration system to be announced by the home secretary, priti patel, next week. similar plans were leaked last year — when labour described them as inhumane and impractical. one of the places being suggested is gibraltar. we can speak to gibraltar�*s chief minister fabian picardo. hejoins me now. very good of you to join us on bbc news today. what is your response to these reports? it is news today. what is your response to these reports?— these reports? it is a pleasure to 'oin ou. these reports? it is a pleasure to join you- i _ these reports? it is a pleasure to join you- i have _ these reports? it is a pleasure to join you. i have written _ these reports? it is a pleasure to join you. i have written to - these reports? it is a pleasure to join you. i have written to priti i join you. i have written to priti patel this morning having seen the reports which i think are groundless in the uk media