2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 20 November 2018.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 2:54, 20 November 2018

My sympathy with your wife. I also follow her on Facebook, so I did know about that. And, as I said, I haven't got much to add to anything else I said on rail. 

On the flu vaccine, the Member raises a very pertinent point. I think it's worth, Llywydd, me just repeating what the Cabinet Secretary has told people. For winter 2018-19, a flu vaccine specifically designed for older people has been licensed in the UK. The advice from the UK's expert panel on immunisation—the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation—is that this adjuvanted vaccine is expected to be more clinically effective in people aged 65 years or over compared with the other flu vaccines that are available, and that it is the only flu vaccine that is likely to be effective in people aged 75 and older. There is not a shortage of flu vaccines for over-65s. All orders submitted by GPs and pharmacists in Wales will be met. The delivery is phased due to demand. The manufacturer has confirmed that all orders will be delivered before the end of November.  I

It's important that the flu vaccine offered to at-risk individuals provides the best available protection. With the high levels of flu we experienced last season resulting in increased GP consultation rates and outbreaks at care homes and in hospitals, it's sensible to act on the expert advice to do everything we can. So, we're looking to people to choose the most effective flu vaccine for them demographically. I appreciate what the Member is highlighting, which is that delay in receiving the flu vaccine may be worrying for older people, but flu does not tend to start to circulate until mid December, so there's plenty of time yet for the flu vaccine to arrive and for people to be protected. The chief medical officer has already written to health boards, GPs and pharmacies with advice about planning arrangements for offering the flu vaccination to older people this season, in light of the availability.

We are aware that a very small number of practices, as I think Nick Ramsay was highlighting, didn't order the adjuvanted vaccine, as recommended by the chief medical officer, or did not order enough for their eligible patients. In those cases, or where deliveries of vaccines have not yet been received, we've asked health boards, practices and community pharmacies to work together to ensure that individuals can access the adjuvanted vaccine as soon as possible, prioritising those over 75 and those over 65 with medical conditions. We are working with Public Health Wales and the NHS to ensure that that vaccine supply situation does not impact on any uptake. So, I think we are working very hard to do that. We are not yet at the point where all of the vaccines have been delivered, and I think that should be very reassuring to Nick Ramsay's constituents.