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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:53 pm on 2 March 2021.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 2:53, 2 March 2021

Thank you very much indeed, Llywydd. Thank you, Minister, for your update. It is incredibly cheerful news. I think a million doses is an enormous achievement and I give my heartfelt thanks and an absolute salute to you, to the health boards, to the volunteers, to everybody who's been involved in this programme. I also pay absolute credit to the UK Government for their vaccination procurement strategy. I think it was a master class getting Kate Bingham involved, and I think that we have been fleet of foot across all four nations, and the people of the UK are benefiting from it. I just want to say, absolutely, congratulations.

I agree with you that a successful vaccination strategy must be based on science and on simplicity. I think we have to be very careful about doing anything that will delay the roll-out. To be able to vaccinate every adult in Wales by the end of July would be an enormous achievement, and I would encourage you to hold fast to that ambition.

Having said that, I've got four questions. The positivity rate in Wales is now at 5.9 per cent, which is a key benchmark for level 3 restrictions. Additionally, case numbers per 100,000 sit at the benchmark of level 2 restrictions—excellent news, but do these figures now enable the Welsh Government to start lifting the blanket level 4 restrictions? Now, I'm not advocating you throw the baby out with the bath water and rush ahead gaily, but I do think we can start lifting some of these restrictions to help mitigate the incredible cost to individuals in terms of their mental and physical health, to businesses and to the people who own those businesses and run those businesses, which in Wales are very often smaller companies and private individuals who work incredibly hard to help support our economy. So, I'd be very interested to know if you feel that this success in the vaccine roll-out will enable you to lift these restrictions sooner rather than later to help mitigate these personal and financial costs.

My second question is: as the Welsh Government starts phase 2 of the vaccine programme, you obviously also need to ensure that dose 2 is implemented on time, so can you just update the Senedd, please, on the progress with developing partnerships with organisations such as Community Pharmacy Wales, because we're going to be relying on those organisations to help with this massive programme?

Thirdly, we know that uptake in some cohorts is very low. Can you just give us an update on how progress is coming on, how the communication strategy is developing? Are you getting positive feedback that it is working to persuade those who are reluctant to take the vaccine to do so?

And my fourth question is very, very small, but I have been approached by just a handful of people who are currently residing in Wales, almost all of them because they're either giving private care or they're giving individual but paid-for care to elderly people here and, in one instance, a disabled young person, but they're residents and their own personal GPs are in England. Are they still able to access the vaccine here, because it doesn't seem terribly suitable to send somebody who's looking after a vulnerable person, perhaps on the train, with multiple exposure to potential COVID, to get a vaccine and then come back and maybe bring that back?

So, that was just a bit of housekeeping. But I think it's very good news. Thank you.