Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:51 pm on 12 January 2021.
Thank you for the questions. On the second dose being the same as the first in terms of the type of vaccine, that is certainly what our plan is. I saw a rather unhelpful New York Times suggestion we might mix them, and that's never been the approach we've planned to take here in Wales, and at this point in time, we don't have an issue with supply. If there was a need to do that, then, I am more than happy, prepared and capable of going to the UK vaccines Minister to make sure that we get the right amount of supply to make sure the second dose can be delivered. We'll be able to have that information, to not just rapidly, but safely deliver doses of the vaccine through the Welsh immunisation service, again, built from scratch here in Wales by our staff.
On wastage, there is already a call-in approach, so health boards already have a backstop approach to the end of the day if there is unnecessary wastage. Actually, our wastage figures are very good, and I expect that'll be part of the weekly information that we provide. We think we can provide a useful figure on wastage that should show very low levels of wastage, and, again, that's credit to the staff delivering the programme.
In terms of having more to learn and the effectiveness over time of the impact of the vaccines, well, of course, we'll learn much of that as we deploy them. We think, from the evidence that we've been provided, delivering the vaccine to the first phase group of people and once we get through all of them will deal with 99 per cent of avoidable hospitalisations and mortality. That, in itself, will make a significant difference to where we are. We'll then learn more about the longevity of the vaccine and issues about transmission, if you've had the vaccine or not, as we move through time. But, as ever, our knowledge base is not complete. We can be confident that we have vaccines that are effective, are providing a high protection in the first dose, but much more to learn for all of us in the months ahead.