Over 40 new cases of coronavirus have been identified in Wales today as under-40s are told they will be given an alternative vaccine.

47 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded across Wales today.

No cases have been recorded in Ceredigion while Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire both recorded two new cases each.

Powys also recorded two new cases with Gwynedd recording one new case.

No new deaths have been recorded in Wales leaving the total number of Covid-19 related fatalities at 5,552 since the pandemic began.

The Welsh Government – along with other areas of the UK – has today announced that under-40s will be offered an alternative vaccine to the Oxford AstraZeneca jab over fears over blood clots.

The UK’s medicines safety regulator says there have been 242 clotting cases, with 28.5 million doses of the vaccine administered.

But the risk is slightly higher in younger age groups.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “Adhering to the latest expert information, as a precautionary measure we will immediately implement the change in advice from JCVI and MHRA and offer those under 40 (with no clinical risk factors) who are not yet vaccinated an alternate to AstraZeneca. The appropriate vaccine will be made available at their appointment.

“We do not envisage this will lead to a delay to the rollout of our vaccine programme in Wales.

“Everybody who has already had a first dose of the AZ vaccine should be reassured that they should receive a second dose of the same brand, irrespective of age, in line with JVCI advice. Medical exemptions may apply to a very small minority.

“The AstraZeneca vaccine has already saved thousands of lives and remains safe and effective for the majority of the population. Over 1.2million people have received the AZ vaccine in Wales since January, with very few cases of the rare clotting with thrombocytopenia event.

“Vaccines remain the best way out of this pandemic and provide strong protection against Covid-19 – it is important that when people are called forward, they should get their jab. To date, over 1.8 million people in Wales have received a first dose of vaccine and a further 800,000 have also received a second dose.

“The Welsh Government, Public Health Wales and NHS Wales are working with other agencies to continually monitor vaccine safety and will keep this issue under close review. In Wales, people’s safety will always come first and we will only use vaccines where it is safe to do so and the benefits continue to outweigh the risks”