Questions now from the party spokespeople. Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Thank you, Llywydd. Today is such an encouraging day in terms of the announcement that the first vaccine has been approved. The way I see it is that we are at the beginning of the final chapter of this pandemic. But, of course, as we move towards the light at the end of the tunnel, then we do need to distribute this vaccine. We've already heard mention of the fact that the group on top of the priority list, along with health and workers, namely those living in care homes, won't be able to be vaccinated for reasons of practicality. That's a matter of concern, I have to say. Does the Minister share my concern that setting priorities and then saying immediately that the objective of reaching that priority group cannot be met undermines the confidence that people will have in the process for the distribution of this vaccine?

No, I don't accept the Member's point at all; I think it's hugely important that we are following not just the professional advice but the advice on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. And it's important, again, to note that we're talking about this one vaccine, the Pfizer candidate vaccine that's been approved for supply today, which needs to be stored at -70 degrees centigrade. Then, to take that out, as you transfer it, if it's not in those conditions, it starts to thaw. And the problem there is that there are a limited number of storage facilities, and to transfer it from that storage facility to a centre for distribution and delivery means that it's thawing as you're moving it. If we're then trying to move it to more than 1,000 care homes across Wales, we can't be clear that it will still be effective for use in each of those homes, and it's not something that you can transfer in very small quantities. So, the challenge then is how do we safely deliver this and get it to as many people, in accordance with the priorities that exist. And that's exactly what we're doing.

It's also why I've been clear that the Oxford vaccine has lots of hope invested in it, because if that is approved for supply as well, that is something that you can deliver in a way that we're much more familiar with. So, when I have my flu vaccine, I go to a community pharmacy, I get a jab in the arm, and that's me done. There's not a complicated storage process; it's the same with general practice and others. The Oxford vaccine can be stored and moved in those circumstances, and so certainly that would make a much bigger difference, for not just care home residents, but other housebound groups of people, who will be right at the top of the vulnerability list. It's actually about protecting those people, which is why we've highlighted the practical challenge, and we'll continue to be honest and upfront with people about each of the choices we make. 

Thank you for that response. No one, of course, would deny the challenges arising from the circumstances in which the vaccine has to be stored. My second question also refers to that distribution challenge; it's on ensuring that there is equal opportunity for people, wherever they are in Wales, to have the vaccination. It's been suggested to me in briefings from officials that this vaccine isn't the most appropriate, perhaps, for harder-to-reach areas—rural areas, for example. But, of course, we only have this one that's been approved at the moment. So, can we have an assurance that people will be treated equitably in terms of being able to access the vaccine, if they are in the particular target group, whether they're in Wrexham or Risca or Aberdaron or Aberdare?

Yes, I'm happy to give the Member the assurance that there'll be equity across the population, across geography, to make sure that there are opportunities for people to attend for vaccination. And I think that's another important point—to attend for vaccination. So, the NHS will contact people and invite them to come to a vaccination centre. So, people shouldn't ring pharmacies or GPs or their treating clinician asking when they'll get it; the NHS will contact you and will invite you to come forward and give you the opportunity. The first batch is 800,000 doses, so 400,000 people across the UK. We'll get our population share of that, and we then expect there to be further batches delivered within this year, with another set in the new year as well. Again, we had this reconfirmed in our conversation between the four nations this morning. So, we'll have equity within the UK about our supply. We've also agreed we want to start vaccinating at the same time as well, and we'll then be able to move on to make sure there's equity across the country, which is exactly what our plans in Wales will deliver, as you would expect.

Thank you for that assurance. It is important in order to ensure that Wales gets its share of every batch, not just the whole order, and that the various countries and the nations of the UK can start the process simultaneously. 

We are awaiting approval of at least two further vaccines in the short term, hopefully. The Minister will be aware that the question of the reliability of the Oxford vaccine—AstraZeneca—has been the cause of some debate recently. We very much hope that it will be sufficiently effective for approval, but it may not be as effective as the other vaccinations. But—and this crucial—it may be cheaper. Can we have an assurance that decisions on which vaccines are to be used where, in terms of various geographical areas or various contexts, won't be made on the basis of cost?

The only choices we'll make about vaccine supplies that come to Wales will be on the basis of how they're effectively delivered to protect people across the population, and the order of priority against people's clinical needs and benefit, taking into account the practical challenges of delivery of that vaccine. As we've just run through, the Pfizer vaccine presents a particular challenge. We'll wait and see what the regulator has to say about other vaccine candidates. Whilst it's promising, we've been really cautious and really clear not to try to give people an impression that everything will be resolved and it's all inevitable. We have to make sure the regulatory process is done in a way that people believe in the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccine, and we'll be clear with the public about those. It's really important to be clear that politicians don't decide whether a vaccine is safe; an independent regulator does that. Politicians and our national health service then have the responsibility to deliver that vaccine equitably across the population to, hopefully, deliver the future that all of us want to have beyond this current pandemic.

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew R.T. Davies.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Minister, today is a good news day, thankfully, after many dark days, to say the least. I commend everyone involved in the development of the vaccine, and vaccines plural, because hopefully there'll be others coming along in the not-too-distant future. Thank you for your statement this morning as well; it was a very detailed and thoughtful statement, I thought, which did add a lot of information that was beneficial, as elected Members, that we could go back to our constituents with. A point I'd like to raise with you is the terminology that you've used and, regrettably, the press are already starting to use, when you talk about this credit card-style card that will be given to you when you have your first appointment that will contain details of the type of vaccine that you've had and your recall date to have the second jab. As I say, I do note that already the press are starting to call that an ID card. Can you confirm that that is not an ID card, and it doesn't have any legal status, and it is merely an information card that will assist the person who is presented for vaccination to obviously have the follow-up, and once the follow-up vaccine has been administered, it will have no further status in law?

This is not an ID card. It was never intended to be. It's not within our powers to do it. This is simply about reminding people when to return to have their next dose of the vaccine, to make sure they do receive proper coverage for themselves. And, of course, it'll make a difference to people they're in contact with. So, there's no other agenda here at all. This is just about making sure we make best use of the vaccine and the opportunity it provides for all of us.

I'm grateful for that clarification, because I certainly look at this as an appointment card, rather than an ID card. But, as I said, certain media outlets are already referring to it as an ID card, and I think that's regrettable. From your answer, I take it that it will have no legal status, this card. 

If I could move on to allocation, you did address some of the points to the previous speaker about allocation, but this first batch that will come to us will have about 40,000 doses for Wales, which, cut in half, because it's a two-jab vaccine, obviously, is 20,000 individuals. That, obviously, is a very small starting point, but a welcome starting point. How will Government determine how that will be spread around Wales? I've heard about the priority groups, and I accept the logic of the priority groups, but with only 20,000 doses available, that's not even going to touch the sides when it comes to dealing with those priority groups, leave alone the geographical spread that needs to be taken into account as well. So, can you give us the train of thought that is behind the logic in arriving at how those first 20,000 doses will be allocated? Importantly, as we know that first tranche is 800,000 doses in total across the UK, of which, as I said, our allocation will be roughly 40,000, when will the next allocation be released for this particular vaccine? I'm assuming that's in the new year, but do we know the quantity and what we're dealing with?

On the 800,000, you're right that our population share will be a little under 40,000 doses, so a little under 20,000 people can be protected, as they need two shots. That'll be dealt with by population size across health boards. There's been agreement on that at the vaccination programme board within Wales. So, again, we won't be saying that, for example, north Wales will have all of the first set of the vaccine and the rest of the country can wait. So, every part of the country will get some coverage.

The UK Government are procuring the vaccine for the whole UK, and we've agreed, in terms of fair shares, the population share that goes into the Barnett formula for each UK country. So, we will get a guaranteed percentage share of any supply into the UK. The confirmation, again, today is that after the first batch of 800,000, we then expect there to be more vaccines being delivered in December. We haven't had exact figures yet, but the indication is that we can expect there to be several million within December. But, as you know, because you need two shots to get coverage, with a population of 60-odd million in the UK, even if we do get, say, 2 million, it won't provide effective population coverage, and that's why we need to be really clear that we need vaccines plural, and more vaccine delivery to come into the UK for us to get that population coverage.

It also relies, of course, on the manufacture of the vaccine in Belgium, and regardless of what happens at the end of the year affecting trading and other relationships, the UK Government have said that if there are any issues about transfer and ports, then they'll fly the vaccine in as well, and they'll take the cost for that. Now, that's important, too, because I think people will be concerned otherwise about the potential supply of the vaccine. We expect quite a lot of this to come into the country overall, and then we expect to understand where we might be with the Oxford vaccine, as well. So, yes, we're taking account of all of those different aspects about our share in Wales and how this can be distributed across Wales. Whenever any new supply comes in, we'll get a share of it, and as that comes in, I fully expect to be updating Members and the public on the amount of supply we're having coming in.

I'm grateful for that answer, health Minister, in particular your assurance that there'll be additional millions of doses coming in by the end of December to the United Kingdom. What I'd like to check with you as well is the resilience of the NHS to deal with the vaccination programme and its everyday work. Last week, we spent considerable time looking at waiting times, and we know the waiting-time backlog that's built up. Can you give us assurance that, obviously, the NHS has the capacity to deliver this ambitious vaccination programme and there will be no distraction from the everyday need that the NHS has to treat the people of Wales in their everyday requirements? It would be my belief that we should have a Minister for vaccination here in Wales. I appreciate that's for the First Minister to decide. I'm not putting that observation to you, and I make no judgment on your performance. It's not a point I'm trying to score against you in any shape or form, but I just think the magnitude of what we're talking about and the length of time that this programme will take to deliver requires that laser-like focus as well as a dedicated focus on the NHS and the position that our NHS finds itself in at the moment. So I'd be grateful to understand the resilience that the NHS has to deliver this vaccination programme and no distraction from the important task of bringing down those waiting lists here in Wales. 

I think there were several different points. Just on the call that I know you've made on social media for a vaccines Minister, unless the First Minister decides otherwise, it's me. This is a public health crisis, this is an immunisation programme, you'd expect it to be delivered through here. It's no surprise that the chief medical officer is the senior official, together with Gill Richardson, who is a senior professional adviser to the chief medical officer and a former public health director in Wales, and that they're taking the leadership from a civil servant point of view and gathering together people in health boards who will then deliver. And I'm very grateful—I should make this point again—for the way that military planners have been involved in assisting our national health service. Throughout the pandemic, the military have played an outstanding role in supporting the Welsh Government in achieving our objectives to help keep Wales safe, and they're very much part of the team Wales approach for the delivery of the vaccine. 

With respect, I don't think it's a realistic expectation to say that, through winter, with all of the normal pressures it has, and with the still significant challenges of a rising infection rate from coronavirus, with all the harm that will bring, I'm afraid, that we could then also expect there to be a significant vaccination programme and to be able to eat into the waiting times backlog as well. We're in the very awful business of prioritisation, and if we can't regain control and turn back the tide of coronavirus, then even if we were not vaccinating people at the same time, we may be forced to make more choices about non-essential activity, and there's harm that comes with that, and I recognise that very well. So that's the position that we're currently in, with a vaccination programme on top. This is obviously a top priority, so we'll have to deal with those necessary priorities. I do hope, though, it reinforces for the public the need to see the vaccination programme that is going to start in the very near future as an opportunity to get to that future intact and not to let go of all the sacrifices that have been made, and not to act ahead of the vaccine as if there is no need to carry on with the unfortunate and unpleasant restrictions that we're living with, with the social distancing and the way that we can't have human contact in the way that is so precious to us all. But to hold our nerve and to keep going, follow the restrictions, and do what we should do for a period of months longer, and then we'll have a different future and we certainly will then have a significant backlog to address here in Wales and, indeed, in every country in the UK. 

Question 3, Mike Hedges. 

I don't see Mike Hedges there, so I'll move on to question 4. 

Question 3 [OQ55950] not asked. 

Question 4, Mark Reckless.