The first item on our agenda is the emergency question. It will be asked to the Minister for Health and Social Services, and the question is to be asked by Rhun ap Iorwerth. 

Will the Minister make a statement on the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Wales following reports that the Welsh Government’s policy is to gradually distribute vaccinations rather than to vaccinate as many people as possible in the shortest time possible? (EQ0008)

Thank you. Every vaccine is going to people who need them. Vaccines are not being held back in Wales. Every week, we are vaccinating more people. This week, we will provide a further 60,000 Pfizer vaccines in mass vaccination centres, almost double the number last week. Today's figure shows that at least 161,900 people have now had their first dose, and an average of 10,000 people a day are being vaccinated. I expect to see that increase further during the rest of this week. We're on track to meet the milestones in the vaccination plan that I published last week. 

Diolch, Weinidog. Getting vaccination right is very, very important. It is the light at the end of the tunnel, the hope so many people have been clinging to. There has to be real confidence among the population that things are on track. People waiting for the vaccine for themselves or their loved ones are being told, 'Don't call us, we'll call you.' If people are being asked to be patient, they must be given reason to have faith that their turn will come soon. Unfortunately, Welsh Government has severely dented that confidence. Firstly, figures showing we're lagging behind other parts of the UK. The First Minister has tried to brush this off saying it's just small fractions, but while 6.6 per cent of the population vaccinated in England may not sound much bigger than 4.8 per cent vaccinated in Wales or in Scotland, that's a 30 per cent difference in the number of people vaccinated, and that needs to be addressed right now. 

We had those figures about how many vaccines had been received in Wales—hundreds of thousands received—and, at that time, just tens of thousands actually put in people's arms, where we want them. And then we had those astonishing statements from the First Minister saying stocks would be spread out over the next few weeks—repeated statements—rather than getting them out as soon as possible. If they were all given out, we were told, vaccinators would be standing around, doing nothing. The British Medical Association called it 'bewildering.' I haven't seen any clinical reason why that would make sense, and what makes sense to me and, more importantly, what makes sense to the Welsh public, I think, is to get it out as quickly as possible. Now, a Welsh Government statement yesterday was completely at odds with the First Minister, as were the Minister's comments now. We were told in that statement that there would be no holding back of vaccine. So, which is it—that statement, or what we heard repeatedly from the First Minister?

We need to be able to measure exactly what's going on. So, again, I ask today: give us regular updates on how much of each kind of vaccine has been given to each UK nation. That is crucial. We need to be absolutely sure that we are getting our share of the easier-to-use AstraZeneca vaccine for example. We need to know how much of each has been given to each health board, and how many of each have been put in people's arms. 

I began by saying how important it is to get vaccination right, and I'll finish if I can by quoting a comment by esteemed poet, Gwyneth Lewis, on social media. She says, 'I will never forgive this administration if my vulnerable husband, having been shielded since March, catches COVID between now and vaccination so that staff aren't hanging about, doing nothing. We've abided by all the guidelines', she says, 'and are angry and baffled by this approach to vaccination in Wales.' Llywydd, many people are angry and baffled. We in Plaid Cymru want Welsh Government to get this right. We know we have brilliant vaccines and vaccinating teams already at work, all poised ready to go. Government has to now get the strategy right, be absolutely transparent in what's going on, including about where any problems are in the system, and, crucially, they must build the confidence we need in this all-important vaccination programme.

Thank you. I think, in terms of the comments, I'll try to be as direct and as brief as possible, Llywydd. The First Minister has clarified the remarks, as you're aware—we're all really clear that every vaccine is being used and no vaccines are being held back. I don't think we can be any clearer. It's also worth reminding everybody who's not in the virtual meeting, but those watching outside as well, the Pfizer stocks are being held, stored and then released for use in every UK country. Every one of the four UK nations had a Pfizer delivery at the end of December, and those are the stocks we're working through as fast as our system can deliver them. And we've built up our infrastructure to deliver a great many more Pfizer vaccines. That's why over 60,000 Pfizer jabs have been released this week into NHS Wales, to make sure they're then delivered into people's arms, to provide the protection that we all want our citizens to have.

On the request for yet more information to be put into the public domain, we're being as open as possible. I've issued a written statement, setting out our approach to providing information about supplies and delivery as well. So, every Thursday there'll be a dashboard with more information, and every Tuesday from next week we'll provide more information still about what we're achieving, together with the daily figures.

On the detailed information the Member requests for the amount of supply we're receiving—what's coming in and what's going out—I'd say two things. The first is that I'm very clear we're getting our population share of all of the vaccine supply available. As long as the supply comes in, we'll deliver those vaccines. The second point is that the level of detail the Member asks for in every aspect may not be possible to give. The Member will have noted that, in Scotland, they had to remove the plan that they'd published online and then publish a new version because some potentially commercially sensitive information about vaccine supply was contained within that initial strategy. So, we do have to be careful about providing as much information as we can, and that may not meet all of the Member's demands for additional daily information.

I can say, though, on the confidence about where we are, the daily figures are being published, and you will see an increase of delivery through this week and into next week as well. And it's worth reflecting that, as we stand now, I am confident that seven in 10 over-80s in Wales by the end of this week will have had their first shot, and seven in 10 of our care home residents and staff by the end of this week will have had their first vaccine as well. That is an increasing level of pace and confidence, increasing protection, exactly as the Member asked for, exactly as I and every member of this Government want to see, because I recognise the crucial importance of this vaccination programme. There'll be no lack of effort or urgency in doing the right thing on our part to keep Wales safe.

[Inaudible.]—for the answer, and also some of the points that you've made already. But the fact of the matter is that, on a population share, we are 40,000 people behind where England is. That's the equivalent of a town the size of Caerphilly being completely vaccinated. These numbers are getting bigger as the days and weeks go by, because, two weeks ago, that gap between where England is and Wales is was 15,000 citizens—the difference between where England is and Wales is at the moment. So, can you tell me what confidence have you got that you will be in a position to be closing that gap and getting more Welsh citizens vaccinated, despite the comments of the First Minister yesterday in saying that vaccinators were struggling to keep up with demand because they didn't have enough vaccines so we needed to ration the vaccine being made available? That really sends, as David Bailey said, a bewildering message—David Bailey from the British Medical Association—to people, wherever they live in Wales, who want to see this genuine success story unfolded here in Wales, because it is the light at the end of the tunnel that we're all hanging on to. But what we're seeing as each day goes by is an increasing gap opening up between where other parts of the UK are vaccinating and where Wales is vaccinating, a poor communication strategy from the Welsh Government, typified by yesterday's comments from the First Minister in particular, and a lack of detail in being able to understand exactly how this programme is progressing in some of our vulnerable communities.

Twice last week I asked you, Minister, could you give us a figure for the number of over-80s that had been vaccinated here in Wales, and, on both occasions, you were unable to provide that information. I hear what you said in response to Rhun ap Iorwerth, when you said that, at the end of the week, you hope seven in 10 of over-80s will have been vaccinated here in Wales with their first shot. Can you confirm today how many over-80s, as a percentage of the population, will have been vaccinated? Because on Sunday I could tell that in England, because it was across the news bulletins that over 50 per cent of over-80s had been vaccinated. We want to see the Government succeed in its programme of vaccination across Wales, because if this programme succeeds, Wales succeeds. But it is not unreasonable, when you hear comments like yesterday's, to have doubts as to the efficiency and the effectiveness of the campaign that the Welsh Government has put in place. So, if you could respond to the points I've put to you, I'd be most grateful. 

Thank you for those comments. When it comes to our delivery, you will have noticed that we have made real progress on increasing the number of mass vaccination centres. That now means that we can increase the delivery of the Pfizer vaccine. That's why we're able to confidently predict we'll be able to not just deliver 60,000 doses to our NHS, but they will then be able to put them into the arms of people and to give them protection. We are making progress. The pace is increasing week on week and the figures demonstrate that. And I hope the Member is genuine in his comments, because we all want this programme to succeed, and I hope that, from the concerns he is expressing now and, to be fair, has regularly done so, he'll then give some credit to the Government and our national health service if we do, as I expect, achieve the milestone of having protected the first four priority groups by the middle of February, as will other UK nations expect to do as well. 

When it comes to where we are, I don't just hope we'll have reached seven in 10 care home residents and staff by the weekend, I don't just hope we'll have reached 70 per cent of the over-80s by the end of the weekend, I expect us to do so. And I can say that my current understanding is that we have already managed to do so for the majority of our over-80s population. I'll have more figures available later this week that I'd be happy to provide to Members and the public to provide the confidence that the Member says he wants to understand and to be able to provide to the wider public. This is a programme that is gathering in pace. We recognise the importance, and I certainly understand the urgency of this for all of us, regardless of our views on politics, to provide a different future for the rest of this year, because the vaccination programme is absolutely protecting our most vulnerable and helping to save lives. 

Very briefly, as we're all aware, people are concerned regarding the wait for the vaccine. Will the Minister unequivocally commit that vaccines will be provided as fast as is possible?

Yes. Vaccines are being provided as fast as is possible and will continue to be provided as fast as is possible. It's worth pointing out that if there are any anxious over-80s watching this, not only have we already got to the majority of over-80s here in Wales, it is not the case that England have completed their over-80s programme. There are still gaps and there will still be people in England waiting for their vaccines too. In Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, we're all working through as fast as possible in those priority groups, and there will be no let up from the Welsh Government or our hard-working staff within our national health service, who I think are doing a fantastic job and are a credit to our country.  

Minister, despite whether the First Minister misspoke on the Radio 4 interview or not, the reality is that Wales is the worst home nation when it comes to vaccine roll-out. We are well behind both Northern Ireland and England, and if the smallest nation in our nation can get its act together, why can't we? It's vital that we vastly accelerate the vaccine roll-out when you consider that Wales has one of the highest death rates in the world. We're losing more people per capita than even the US, who have totally bungled their coronavirus response. So, facing this huge death toll, why are GPs in my region only receiving a third of the vaccine supplies they were promised and forced to cancel vaccinations at the last minute? Minister, when will Wales get its act together, considering that we have clearly demonstrated that vaccination is the only way out of this pandemic? Diolch.  

As a matter of fact, we're not the worst home nation. We've now caught up with and are tracking the progress in Scotland, and I expect us to go even faster during the rest of this week, as I've said repeatedly not just this afternoon, but also in other statements and interviews that I've given over the last couple of days. We are accelerating the roll-out, and, as I say, look at the figures, not just in the last few weeks where we've seen a week-on-week increase in the roll-out, but by the end of this week, when you'll see a further increase in the roll-out in Wales. I believe our NHS staff deserve praise for that increasing roll-out, and you'll see more of that moving forward.

When it comes to international comparisons, of course, Wales is the fifth best country in the world at present, but we want to compare well with every other part of the UK. That's the commitment of our staff. That's the commitment of this Government. More people will be protected. The limiting step, as every other health Minister has acknowledged when being questioned about this, is supply. Those general practices that have not had all of the AstraZeneca supply they would have expected, it's simply a matter of delivery to them. But I am confident that the assurances we have had in every single UK nation about vaccine supply increasing will be met, and if they are, we will continue to increase our delivery. That means more people being protected at a faster rate in every community right across Wales.

My inbox on vaccine roll-out is full of anger, and our wonderful staff are chomping at the bit to deliver the vaccine. Now, we know Welsh Government has bought into the UK Government procurement for various vaccines, as we've heard. Can I ask what flexibility is there in the agreed provision of the Pfizer vaccine versus the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine? Is there flexibility to change as the situation potentially changes, or as the challenges change? Is there flexibility in the procurement agreement? Is Wales getting its fair share of the Oxford-AZ vaccine, which is easier to roll out within GP surgeries and community pharmacies and all the rest?

My final point is: with high circulating levels of COVID still, though the lockdown is working and the figures are coming down, there remains high probability of new mutant strains developing, which is why you must vaccinate as a matter of urgency—pull out all the stops. The Welsh Government must be braver in its roll-out and go for broke and press for more vaccines if we're in danger of running out. Minister, would you agree, and also would you agree we must be flexible? If there's vaccine available anywhere, we must go for it. No administrative straitjacket should hold up this urgent vaccination programme.

I'm happy to confirm that I don't believe there is an administrative straitjacket holding up the vaccination programme here in Wales. I understand the frustration of our staff who want to be out vaccinating more. I understand not just general practice, but community pharmacy too. As the supplies of AstraZeneca increase as we expect them to—that's not just from conversations with the UK Government, but also from direct engagement between the Welsh Government and AstraZeneca themselves—we expect to have much greater supplies progressively through the rest of the spring. That means we'll be able to deliver at an even faster rate.

I've had direct conversations with Nadhim Zahawi, the UK vaccines Minister, about the supply to Wales, because part of my concern about the Prime Minister's surprise announcement on the first four groups being resolved by the middle of February was that, of course, we have a higher portion as a population of those first four groups than England does, and we need to make sure that we're not going to be artificially held back by a lack of supply in going as fast as possible. In those conversations, there has been a direct assurance that we will have all of the supply we need to be able to achieve that milestone at the same time as other UK nations. We're receiving at least our population share, as we've agreed. So, yes, we're getting a fair share and we're making good use of that fair share of all the vaccines that we're receiving.

I do think it's helpful to reiterate the point you make, though, that lockdowns work on the terms on which they're introduced. They help to slow down the rate of transmission, to reduce the amount of harm being caused, to ensure our NHS is not being overwhelmed, to allow us to limit the rate of transmission, to see it reduced, and to allow different choices to be made as vaccination protects more of our most vulnerable citizens. There is no let-up from this Government, no lack of understanding of the need for urgency, pace and delivery, and I'm very proud—as I've said more than once—of the job that our NHS staff are doing to protect as many of our vulnerable people as quickly as possible in every single community right across Wales.

Minister, the First Minister, in making the statements he did yesterday, has caused a lot of anxiety, concern and upset. Actually, he's leading vulnerable people to believe that they are now at an increased risk of contracting the virus, and no more so than in Aberconwy.

Do you agree with the First Minister that all available Pfizer vaccines should not be made available as quickly as possible? You claimed that the challenge was having enough infrastructure to deliver the Pfizer jab without wasting it, but how can you stand by what you've said when locations down the road from me here at Venue Cymru have only been working three days a week, instead of the agreed six days, because they can't get enough vaccines? How do you respond to GPs working in my constituency who are absolutely furious because some have agreed to issue 100 doses a day for six days a week, yet in the last two weeks, have only managed to complete 100 a week? That's due to them not being able to obtain the supplies. Why are you not listening to the health professionals and all those hard-working health staff delivering these vaccines? As has been pointed out, Dr David Bailey, chair of the British Medical Association in Wales, is asking you—and I quote—

'to stop sitting on supplies and get on with it.'

And as a GP said to me yesterday, 'Will you please tell Mr Vaughan Gething from me that I want those vaccinations in the arms of our people here in Aberconwy? They are no use to anyone sitting on a shelf and all that's going to succeed if that happens is that the virus is going to be harder to defeat and patients will lose lives.' It doesn't get any more serious than that, Minister, so please listen to what you are being told. Diolch, Llywydd.

With respect, I think the Member should listen to the answers that are being given on information. When it comes to the Pfizer supply, we're putting out much more Pfizer supply this week—nearly double what went out last week—and that'll make sure that the increasing number of mass vaccination centres—. We currently have 28 operating and over 90 per cent of those were open this weekend. We're going to move up to 45 vaccination centres within the next week or two. So, actually, that will make sure that we make good use of the Pfizer vaccination supply that we have and we should continue to get into the future.

I understand the concerns of general practitioners, and this was a point that I've dealt with in several other questions, including Dr Lloyd's question immediately before your own. The Oxford-AstraZeneca supply is the one that we're providing to primary care. I know that some people have been frustrated that they haven't received as much as expected, but that's simply a matter of supply into Wales. As we see significant increases take place this week, those supplies will go out very quickly to general practice; they won't be sitting on shelves, they won't be kept somewhere away from practitioners who need to be able to deliver them to protect our citizens. That's exactly what we are doing and exactly what you will see our NHS do.

I hope that the clarity in the information that we're providing today and the clarity in the numbers that you will see increase through the rest of this week will provide the level of confidence that the Member claims she wants to have in this programme and the significant difference it will make to people in every single community up and down the country, as our NHS plays its part in helping to keep Wales safe.

Thank you, Minister.