The plan reflects months of detailed delivery planning, and sets out our national strategy and priorities for the coming months. The plan sets out three key milestones. By mid February, all care home residents and staff, front-line health and social care staff, everyone over 70 and everyone who is extremely clinically vulnerable or the shielded population will have been offered the vaccination. By the spring, vaccination will have been offered to all the other phase 1 priority groups. This is everyone over 50 and everyone who is at risk because they have an underlying health condition. Completing all groups identified as priorities in phase 1 will protect those groups in which we understand that 99 per cent of all avoidable deaths occur. By the autumn, vaccination will have been offered to all other eligible adults in Wales, in line with any guidance issued by the independent expert Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. 

By the autumn, the aim is that 2.5 million people in Wales will have been offered immunisation—all within a matter of months. This is a mammoth task for NHS Wales. It is worth noting that no decisions have yet been made on phase 2 and how to prioritise that phase of the roll-out. The JCVI will however provide advice on the next phase for the four Governments of the United Kingdom to consider.

The milestones in the plan are predicated on sufficient supply of vaccines being available. We have received assurances from the UK Government that supplies will be forthcoming. However, ultimately, this is a matter outside of the Welsh Government’s control.

The plan also includes three markers, which we are aiming to achieve as part of the journey towards achieving milestone 1. These are that, by 18 January, all front-line Welsh ambulance staff will have been offered their first dose of the vaccine. This is part of our aim to vaccinate all front-line health and care staff as soon as possible, given the pressure that our NHS is under and the critical role that our health and care staff are playing in this pandemic. By the end of January, all care home residents and staff will have been offered their first dose of the vaccine. Whilst many care home staff attended our vaccination centres for their first dose of the vaccine in the early weeks of the programme, outreach into care homes was difficult because of the well-advertised challenges associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. They are a priority focus following the introduction of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine last week. And also, by the end of January, our aim is for at least 250 general practices across Wales to be part of the delivery model. The role of primary care is a critical element in our programme: 250 practices coming on stream in a matter of weeks illustrates the opportunities for scale presented by primary care. Scale is one thing, but another key consideration is accessibility, and primary care solutions will ensure that vaccines are offered closer to home for those that need it most. 

The plan lays out our medium-term approach for vaccinating 2.5 million people in Wales. If the last year has taught us anything, it is that things will change. Our plan will be updated at points to reflect these changes. It will also be updated as we move through the milestones and greater clarity emerges on the next steps, particularly with respect to phase 2 of the programme.

However, I do need to remind Members and the watching public that the situation in Wales at the start of 2021 remains very serious. Cases of the virus are very high, and a new, more infectious strain of coronavirus—the Kent strain—has emerged right across the UK, and is circulating in all parts of Wales. This is a race against the virus, and the vaccine programme provides us with great hope. Reaching the finish will be a marathon effort over the coming months ahead. The vaccine is not a quick fix, but I am confident that team NHS Wales will deliver a vaccination programme that we can all be proud of, and it will help to save many lives.

Just as our NHS, local government, the military assistance being provided, and volunteers all have a part to play in delivering the largest vaccination programme in history, we all have a part to play to keep Wales safe: to keep washing our hands regularly, to maintain a good distance with other people not from our household, to wear a face mask where required, and, yes, to make sure that we're providing good ventilation wherever possible. We all have a part to play in helping to keep Wales safe. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.