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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:35 pm on 2 February 2021.

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Photo of Caroline Jones Caroline Jones UKIP 3:35, 2 February 2021

Thank you for your update, Minister, and a huge thanks to the army of people responsible for ensuring that over 13 per cent of the Welsh population have received a first dose of the vaccine, not forgetting the help we receive from our armed forces during this pandemic. Minister, in the next few weeks, we begin the roll-out of our second doses. What steps are you taking to ensure that the roll-out of first doses can continue apace without any drop in capacity? Over the past week, we have seen European Union bureaucrats threaten our vaccine supplies. So, what discussions have you held with the UK Government about how we can ensure the security of our supply? And whilst the EU can never actually be able to prevent the exports of our vaccine supplies, they can in fact delay them, and the debacle has highlighted the inherent risks of relying on imports. So, in light of this, could you tell me what discussions you've had about producing vaccines in Wales?

And finally, Minister, we have already seen the emergence of new variants, which appear to have some vaccine resistance. This could mean that we have to constantly keep adapting the vaccines to keep pace with the virus. When life returns to some semblance of normality, we won't be able to rely upon the current mass vaccination centres, so what steps have you taken to ensure that we have long-term vaccination capacity in all communities? And I'd like to thank the constituent who rang me, who was jubilant to say that, on his seventy-fifth birthday, he received his vaccination. He says a big 'thank you'. Diolch.