The Maltese man who died after contracting Covid-19 while he was in India with his wife to finalise details for the adoption of a baby girl had asked the authorities for the vaccine prior to the trip, Newsbook reports.

It reports that his request was denied as the age group he was part of were not eligible for the jab at the time.

In an interview with Newsbook, Health Minister Chris Fearne said that in such situations, unfortunately, people cannot be allowed to have the jab early and emphasised the importance of keeping to the vaccination schedule.

"If someone says 'Okay, I'm going to India, Egypt or Peru tomorrow and I haven't had the vaccine, let me just ask for it' then we're going to have a situation where everyone is going to find a reason. There will be no transparency and things won't be proceeding in an orderly way."