3. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19 Vaccinations

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:07 pm on 26 January 2021.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 3:07, 26 January 2021

(Translated)

One—that was in the Llyn peninsula the week before last, I believe. We have over 600 community pharmacies, and we must ensure that they become part of the vaccination process as soon as possible. They want to participate. A pharmacist in my constituency in Valley contacted me over the past few days, saying, 'We want to do this, we are trained to do it, we have capacity to do it, let us do it.' If I may say so, the clear message I hear is: 'We could do much more if we had more of the vaccine.' Now, I've asked time and time again for data on how many of the various vaccines have been distributed to the four nations of the UK, how many are provided to each health board here. I ask again. You've mentioned the importance of transparency in your opening remarks. Well, provide that transparency here so that we can see any inequalities or blocks in the system. It is crucial, fundamentally important data.

Finally, I want to highlight the most recent concerns about that change of policy so that there would be up to a 12-week delay between the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine rather than the original three weeks. More concerns have been brought to my attention on this issue. There are concerns that it could undermine the effectiveness of the vaccination to the extent that you would have to start from the beginning. Now, I understand the idea of providing greater protection to more people, but are you willing to face the possibility that, to all intents and purposes, millions of vaccinations could have been wasted because of this change of policy?