Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:02 pm on 19 January 2021.

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Photo of Paul Davies Paul Davies Conservative 2:02, 19 January 2021

Well, I put it to you, First Minister, something as important as the roll-out of the vaccinations should have been discussed at Cabinet level and should have been minuted, I would have thought. The Welsh Government has had months to develop a strategy that ensures people in priority groups all over Wales receive their vaccination. And instead, what we've seen is patchy and inconsistent provision with different levels of progress in different parts of the country. And it's deeply concerning to hear that you defend your go-slow policy to prevent vaccinators standing around with nothing to do when a Welsh Government should be significantly accelerating the administration of vaccines across Wales, and those concerns, of course, have been echoed by BMA Cymru, who, as we've already heard earlier this afternoon, have said to stop sitting on supplies and to get on with it. Now, whilst other parts of the UK have started vaccinating people in the over-70 category, here in Wales, people in their 80s and some even in their 90s in my constituency are still waiting for their vaccines. So, First Minister, can you tell us whether the Welsh Government intends to continue with its go-slow approach for the duration of the vaccine period? And if so, how confident are you that people in priority groups will actually receive their first vaccine by mid February?