The Vaccination Roll-Out in Mid and West Wales

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:23 pm on 23 February 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:23, 23 February 2021

Well, I don't recognise what the Member says about decisions made and then delayed. We have said all along we will follow the JCVI advice and that includes including unpaid carers within priority group 6. Alongside the advice we will publish on people with learning disabilities, we will publish this week the definitions that we will use to make sure that unpaid carers are able to come forward and be vaccinated as part of that group. It cannot be, as the Member will understand, a simple self-certification, otherwise anybody would be able to walk through the door and get vaccinated on their own say-so. All four Governments in the UK are agreed that we cannot do that. We therefore do have to use definitions to make sure that the right people are prioritised, and we're trying to do that on an aligned basis across the UK to make sure that those definitions are common between us. We'll publish the detailed guidance on that this week. I'm very keen indeed, of course, that people who are unpaid carers get the vaccination as fast as possible because of the enormously valuable work they do and the vulnerability of those people who rely on their care.