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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:31 pm on 2 February 2021.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of David Lloyd David Lloyd Plaid Cymru 3:31, 2 February 2021

Can I thank the Minister for his statement, and also begin by saluting the terrific performance of all those involved in the vaccination programme? Truly heroic, epic, and every similar adjective applies. Can I also say that lockdowns actually work? I think it's important to emphasise that point. It may come as a shock to one or two of my regular correspondents online, but lockdowns do work, the figures show. And also can I pay tribute to the excellent genomic expertise we have here in Wales? The sequencing tech that we have is absolutely brilliant. And as regards that, and that expertise, which is how you pick up new variants, obviously we have the new South African variant, and we have this new variant, Kent plus, as the Minister implied, that allegedly could more easily evade the full effects of vaccination, and evade the full effects of our own immunity. 

The question that—. I hear what the Minister has said about that, and, obviously, I'm more than reassured. In terms of how we test for those new variants in Wales, though, how widespread is our ability to pick up on these new variants in the testing regime we have at present in Wales? And my final question, as regards testing in general, is: what is the progress in allowing individuals, i.e. ordinary members of the public, to request their own test when they have vague or non-classical symptoms of COVID? How can we deal with those non-typical, though important, situations? Diolch yn fawr.