Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:16 pm on 2 December 2020.
The Oxford vaccine, yes. The Oxford vaccine—well, again, you've seen the public news about this. It was delivered by accident. In one stage of the trial, they delivered a half shot by accident, but they found that that appears to have given a greater effectiveness level, a greater level of immunity, which is good news, and there are times where things happen that are fortunate as opposed to planned, and this would appear to be one of those. So, that's part of the safety data the MHRA will look at. And there will be a different challenge, though, because whilst the amount of supply means they should be able to create more vaccine, it may just change the nature in which they have to package and deliver things. But these are practical challenges that I'm sure we'll be able to get through with manufacturers across the UK as well. And again, that vaccine, if it is at the higher level of its potential in terms of its effectiveness, then it can be delivered in a way that makes it not just cheaper but much easier to deliver around the country. That is something that would really help in population coverage, but I'm very grateful for the fact that we have today's welcome news and, again, ask people to stick with the difficulties that we're all living through for a few more months, and then we can enjoy a much greater degree of normality in the future.