Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:21 pm on 27 January 2021.
Minister, we are in a sprint to save lives and businesses and mental health. It is very welcome to hear today from the medical officer that the R rate has gone down and there is noticeable improvement in community transmission rates across our country. This is very encouraging. However, as we heard from Helen Whyley from the Royal College of Nursing on the BBC today, we cannot be complacent. The NHS is still under enormous pressure. So, we'll need to have a plan in place, not only for the new Kent variant of the vaccine that has spread across Wales, but also a plan in case further strains of the virus present themselves to us.
We must now concentrate on what we can control. We must ensure that the vaccine is rolled out at speed. Yes, it's great that we've caught up with Scotland and Northern Ireland, but we still, percentage wise, have a long way to go to catch up with England. Forty-four thousand vaccines need to be administered to reach that target—that's the size of Merthyr Tydfil. You can't be disingenuous and blame the snow for missing your target this week. The Government missed your own clear target that you gave of vaccinating 70 per cent of the over-80s. When are you going to reach that target? I have not heard you say when you're actually going to reach that target. We need to know that—not the blasé, 'We're going to reach everything by mid Feb.' We need to know clear targets.
We have a situation where couples are not being called to be vaccinated together, where carers are not being vaccinated at the same time as the person they're looking after. We have, for example, one mass vaccination centre in Monmouthshire delivering the Oxford vaccine only two days a week, whereas if it was moved to the Pfizer vaccine, it could be delivered seven days a week, like in Newport and Cwmbran. Simple practical steps are not happening. Our local health boards are doing their best, and I commend them for the work they've done—it's been fantastic—but these sorts of mini failures lie with you, Minister, and they have a massive impact on us getting the vaccine out as fast as possible.
The Government needs clear targets, it needs to publish more data on the roll-out, to be analysed not just by us but the general public, so that they can clearly what's going on. I run coronavirus help and support groups, and the information I put on there is the only information that a lot of people are getting because they go to the Government site and it's not there. You need clearer communication, easy-to-read communication, and understandable communication for the public on where you're at and what targets you're trying to meet.
A dedicated Minister to ensure the speedy and efficient roll-out seems to me to be an absolute must. You must have an awful lot on your plate, Minister, and I commend you for what you're doing, but this roll-out needs a dedicated person to ensure it's rolled out as soon as possible, not just for us, but the people of Wales—