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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:14 pm on 23 February 2021.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:14, 23 February 2021

I'll deal with the last point first, because there is a real concern about the level of misinformation and dishonesty in trying to dissuade people from having the vaccine and a range of scare stories that are being promoted. And I should say that I'm grateful for the way that Members across the political spectrum have looked to be really consistent in urging people to take the vaccine. You'll have seen not just the celebrities who have gone out and encouraged people from black and Asian origin groups to have the vaccine, but also you saw politicians from across the political divide doing the same thing as well. You wouldn't normally have Diane Abbott and James Cleverly endorsing the same message, but it very much has happened.

The sewer of misinformation that is available is a real concern for all of us, and in particular as we go through the age groups, the concerns that have been given are a real threat to all of us. So, we know that employers in each of those areas are reinforcing those messages, and we know that, locally, our general practitioners and others are doing it and to the point of vaccination, those conversations take place. But it's really about the amount of information we're able to get out earlier, and some of that is because it's the organic spread of this, whether it's through WhatsApp or Facebook or other social media platforms, it's being able to combat that in those areas as well. You'll see that this is a challenge, not just in the Government, about who the message comes from, because while some people will believe what I have to say when I say that I've spoken to our chief medical officer and this is the advice, but there are many others who need to hear that directly from others. So, it's a multiplicity of voices, especially those people who are from those communities of concern, other care workers talking about their experiences and in particular independent medics, as opposed to others. And you'll see that we're promoting that on Welsh Government platforms and others, and I hope that Members do find it easy enough to find sources of information if you're getting concerns about this. If Members do have concerns about where that information is, then please do contact me and I'll happily make sure that something goes out to Members more generally to point people to reliable sources of information.

On your starting point about the clarity in communications, groups 5 to 9 include all people over the age of 50 and that's the point the First Minister was making. We're working through that in terms of priorities. We're into groups 5 and 6 already, people will be receiving invites and will be going through in turn. I do expect, as I said earlier, to be able to at least match the pace of the roll-out in England, which means that we should be able to do that earlier than the end of April, which is good news for everyone, and then to start with the rest of the adult population.

And that gets me, I guess, into your middle question, which is about broadening vaccine priorities. I know that you say you're not looking to de-prioritise other people, but the reality is that if you broaden vaccination categories, if you add more people in over and above the JCVI prioritisation, then you are de-prioritising other people. And I take on board your point about who these people are. It's either a choice—and we've asked JCVI for advice—of whether there are particular occupations that should be prioritised above age groups or together with other age groups. And then there may be some difficult value questions, because actually, if you work in retail, or if you're a taxi driver, or if you're a post office worker, then you have different risks to other people, and I know that lots of the conversation is about teachers or the police, but if there are other groups with a larger occupational profile in terms of acquiring COVID. So, we may face a challenge—and it depends what the JCVI says—about whether we have key workers as a category or individual workers, and within that, I'll be interested in advice around how specific that advice would be and how quickly our whole programme can move. Now, I need to receive and consider that JCVI advice and I'm expecting that that isn't very far into the future, so this isn't going to be theoretical for much longer. I'll need to make an actual decision and as soon as I have made a decision, I'll be clear about what that is and provide that to the public as well as Members, and of course, we'll have the published advice from the JCVI to work from. So, I understand the case that the Member makes, but I have to say that, without clarity in how that would work and making sure that we protect people at the greatest risk as soon as possible, it's not a position that I think should affect groups 5 to 9, who are still progressing through at some pace.