Emergency Question: The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 1:38 pm on 19 January 2021.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 1:38, 19 January 2021

[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.