Flintshire lagging behind rest of North Wales vaccinating 40-49 year olds but health board ‘on course’ to hit July target

The latest data released by the Betsi Cadwalader Health Board shows that just seven per cent of those aged between 40 and 49 in Flintshire have received the first dose of Coronavirus vaccine.

The health board has however said it is on course to meet the next major milestone in the vaccine rollout and will have offered the jab to all adults by the end of July.

As of Tuesday (April 20), of the 13,509 people aged between 40 and 49 in Flintshire waiting for their first dose of the vaccine, 908 had received (or declined) the jab.

By contrast, of the 8,222 people of the same cohort in Conwy waiting for their first dose of the vaccine, 5,864 had received (or declined) it, 71 per cent of 40 and 49-year-olds in the county.

Flintshire has the highest number of people aged between 40-49 in North Wales.

Wrexham, which has the second-highest population of the age group at 11,555 has seen 20 per cent – 2,340 people – receive the jab.

Data source: BCUHB

The health board has said the lag is due in part to having to now offer an alternative first dose to the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged under 30 following advice from UK vaccine regulators.

Dr Chris Stockport, Executive Director of Primary and Community Care, said: “We remain on course to offer vaccination to the remaining adult population well before the Welsh Government’s end of July milestone.”

“Although there is currently some variation in the per cent of people vaccinated in each cohort in different local authority areas of North Wales, we ​can see from appointment bookings for the next few weeks that this variation evens out.”

 “This variation is a result of the population size of individual cohorts in each local authority area; the amount and type of vaccine received; and the need to offer an alternative first dose vaccine to the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged under 30, in line with guidance from the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).”

 “We are continuing to contact people aged 40-49 directly with an appointment to receive a first COVID-19 vaccine. Please be patient and only contact us if you wish to rearrange or cancel your appointment once you have received it.”

Overall 527,277 total vaccinations have been administered in North Wales

• First dose vaccines – 375,467
• Second dose vaccines – 151,810

Percentage of people in Priority Groups across North Wales who have received a first dose:

• • People aged 65 to 69: 93 per cent
  • People aged 16 to 64 in an at risk group: 83 per cent
  • People aged 60 to 64: 87 per cent
  • People aged 55-59: 84 per cent
  • People aged 50-54: 81 per cent
  • People aged 40-49: 29 per cent
  • People aged 30-39: 6 per cent
  • People aged 18-29: 6 per cent

People in the following groups who have not yet been able to take up an appointment are asked to complete our online form.

The health board will then send out an appointment letter in the post.

Complete the form if you are:

• a person over 16 who lives with individuals with severely weakened immune systems
• aged 50 or over and not received an invite
• aged 16 years to 64 years with certain underlying health conditions
• unpaid carers who are unknown to us

If you are unable to access the internet, please contact our COVID-19 Vaccination Contact Centre on 03000 840004. The lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm and Saturday to Sunday, 9am to 1pm.