THE Scottish Tories have come under fire for saying the Scottish Government have reached "an all time petty low" in a tweet about the Covid vaccine.

The tweet, from the official Scottish Government account, referred to the "Astrazeneca vaccine", but numerous Scottish Tories claimed it should be referred to as the "Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine".

Maurice Golden claimed Nicola Sturgeon's Government is promoting a "nationalist" agenda.

He tweeted: "The rest of the world knows it as the Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine. But Scottish nationalism won’t allow anything positive to be accredited to the UK. An all time petty low for this Scottish nationalist government."

Former Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said the Scottish Government tweet was a display of "narrow nationalism".

He added: "How petty can this Govt get to omit ‘Oxford’ from the name of the vaccine because it’s in England? Narrow nationalism at its worst."

Dean Lockhart said: "Petty nationalism based on grievance seems to have infiltrated every branch of the Scottish civil service. Omitting ‘Oxford’ is clearly nonsensical, regardless of which side of the constitutional divide you find yourself on."

Miles Briggs desribed the SNP as "pathetic", saying: "Sometimes I actually feel sorry for how pathetic the SNP have become when they force the Scottish Civil Service to see everything through their Separatist eyes."

Andrew Bowie tweeted: "Thanks to the UK Government."

The UK Government website refers to the jab as the "Astrazeneca vaccine".

The National:

The Scottish Tories' comments received a significant backlash on Twitter, with some pointing out that Downing Street's Union Unit reportedly demanded the Oxford vaccine kit be branded with the UK’s flag.

READ MORE: Downing Street 'wants Covid-19 vaccine branded with Union flag'

Top Scottish lawyer Aamer Anwar said: "Except Maurice the UK Govt is calling the vaccine #AstraZeneca really wish you Tories could stop being such nationalists or maybe try reading the link & that a Scot Govt Minister @JeaneF1MSP called it ‘Oxford -AstraZeneca’."

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Last year's plan to brand the vaccine with the Union flag had strong backing from Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Business Secretary Alok Sharma. 

A UK Government spokesperson said there were currently no plans to brand the doses: “Manufacturing for some of the leading potential vaccines is already underway so they can be rolled out quickly if approved.

“Manufacturers are well-versed in the best way to package products like this.”

The plot was met with incredulity from the SNP. A spokesperson for the party said: “If true these reports suggest utter desperation from the Tories.

"The creation of a vaccine is a global effort with scientists and countries coming together to share their expertise to tackle Covid-19.

"Politicians of all kinds should be focussed on getting the vaccine to the right people at the right time."