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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:32 pm on 9 February 2021.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 4:32, 9 February 2021

Thank you for the series of questions. I'll start with your first point and your last point together on vaccine supply. It is a UK Government responsibility, and the contracts that they've procured on behalf of the whole of the UK have allowed us to go out and deliver, and it's a credit to the way that our teams in Wales have then used that supply over the last weeks. I think from within your comments there was even some credit for the Government, as well as people outside the Government, for delivering that here in Wales at such a tremendous pace.

On vaccine supply, I've spoken not just with Nadhim Zahawi on a regular basis, the UK vaccines Minister, but I've also had conversations with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca and my officials. Pfizer had a planned pause in their production to restart on a more efficient basis. They are confident that that means they will be producing a vaccine at a higher rate, both to meet their commitments with the contract they have with the UK Government for all four nations, and indeed their commitments through Europe. That's good news and they also think that they will be able to negotiate the changed arrangements for goods to transfer between the European Union and the UK, and that of course is hugely important for all of us too.

On your point about BME take-up and hesitancy, it is a matter that I have been concerned about from the outset. We're well aware that there is a range of fake news and media associated with a wide group of people across the country. Some of that is particularly targeted around faith communities and around some particular communities, black and Asian-origin communities in particular. So, we're doing work, not just—. Other Governments are also doing something similar as well, in terms of UK-wide messaging, but also, later on today, I'll be joining a round-table with a range of community leaders to help address some of these very points. You'll have heard the comments that I've made and the First Minister has made at yesterday's press conference, indicating how we want to go about making this as open as possible in terms of what the Government does, but also the way that our health boards are doing direct outreach work with some of these communities. And I'm very grateful for individual healthcare staff who are reaching back into their communities to highlight the fact that the vaccine is safe and effective, and there is no bar to them taking it from either a religious or ethnic origin point of view, and that's really, really important for all of us, regardless of our own politics in the Chamber, to get on top of the fake news that will leave people more vulnerable to harm.

On second dose plans, that is very much part of what we're doing; you'll see more and more people getting their second doses in the information published every day. You'll also see the rate of second doses going up slightly. We did nearly 700 second doses yesterday and we're soon going to be in the territory of doing thousands of second doses through each week and then tens of thousands as we get to those people who need to have their Pfizer second dose as well. We need to make sure that the stock is available to make sure that we're giving people the right second dose over the weeks ahead.

Now, on 70 to 74-year-olds, I haven't given a direction that requires 70 to 74-year-olds to go to a mass vaccination centre. It would probably be more helpful if I could see the correspondence or the suggestion you refer to to try to address it. It's always a possibility that there are anecdotes and a suggestion that the Welsh Government has intervened when we haven't, and I'll be very clear that there is no policy choice that I have made requiring 70 to 74-year-olds to go to a mass vaccination centre. We're operating a deliberately blended approach, with 438 different locations where people can be vaccinated.

On your point about people with learning disabilities, it depends whether they're in scope to have a vaccine in the first place, because actually the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorisation doesn't cover every child, as you'll know, and it's also then about people who are carers and those who are carers within group 6, and those who are older adults with learning disabilities as well. And that very much is part of the challenges that we're considering, both in terms of our interaction with the JCVI and our Welsh representatives on that forum, but also in terms of our broader public health advice as well. In the course of rolling out to group 6 in particular, we will be doing some communications around that and trying to make that as clear as possible, and that'll inform not just what we do as a Government and the interactions health boards have with you, in your local capacities as Members, but obviously I will continue to make that available to health committee members in the regular briefings that we are continuing with. I believe that answers the questions that have been posed at this point.