4. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:00 pm on 12 January 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 4:00, 12 January 2021

I think, on your final point, that is something that I know the chief medical officer and our chief nurse are particularly concerned about, because the figures are there about a more significant mortality rate for people with a learning disability. Our challenge is whether it's actually the learning disability or whether actually there are other underlying conditions, and, actually, when you think about it, most of our learning-disability adults have a higher number of people who are entitled to an NHS flu jab, and so, actually, they will be covered within the first phase. If you're like me, and you're entitled to an NHS flu jab because of an underlying health condition, not because of your age—although that time, I hope, will come in due course—then that means that you are in a different place in the list to if I were just being dealt with within my age profile. So, there are a range of other categories that I think will catch up and make sure that people under the highest vulnerability do get seen in order with their priority.

And when it comes to protections for the police, we are already trialling lateral flow testing as an additional protection for the police to help people to self-isolate if they're asymptomatic and to protect our workforce within the police. That's a trial that all forces in the whole of Wales are supporting. In terms of the police federation call to be moved up priority lists, I think I've dealt with that extensively both yesterday in the press conference and earlier today. There is a real impact to moving occupational staff groups around, and an impact on preventing the maximum number of deaths.