Health Minister: “Irresponsible scaremongering” to claim vaccination programme is “stuttering” in Wales
Health minister Vaughan Gething has said claims the Covid vaccination programme is “stuttering” in Wales is an “act of irresponsible scaremongering.”
Welsh Conservatives have said there are “real concerns” around lack of access for care homes and the over 80s compared to other parts of the UK.”
The initial launch of the vaccine to care home staff, health and social care workers and those aged 80 started across the UK on December 8.
The start of the vaccination programme came just days after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the first Covid vaccine for use in the UK.
The first care home residents in Wales were given the vaccination last week.
Last week pensioners in Bryn Yr Haul House in Mold became the first care home residents in Wales to receive the vaccine.
The COVID-19 vaccine was delivered to the first care home residents in Wales today.
Our staff were at Bryn yr Haul in…
Posted by Betsi Cadwaladr on Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Welsh Conservative health spokesman Andrew RT Davies said there is a “growing number of people, especially those over 80 years old, are getting concerned about when they are going to be receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.”
He said, “many” people have been reporting to them that they haven’t received any information about receiving their first injection.
Mr Davies said: “The vaccination programme is stuttering into life in Wales with some real concerns around lack of access for care homes and the over 80s compared to other parts of the UK.”
“To keep confidence Welsh Labour Ministers need to get a grip. Otherwise, there is a risk, given the scale of the vaccination programme, the public will lose confidence in the Welsh Government’s ability to deliver it, replicating their shambolic handling of the virus to date.”
Responding to the claims, health minister Vaughan Gething said the NHS has “not forgotten” those waiting for their vaccine jab.
He said: “The Covid vaccine programme is not stuttering in Wales. It is an act of irresponsible scaremongering to claim it is.”
“We are using the same prioritisation as every other UK country. The first phase includes over 80s, care home residents and frontline NHS and social care staff.”
“People in Wales will be contacted by the NHS for their vaccine appointment – as we have made clear from the start.”
Latest figures on how many people have received the vaccine in Wales were expected to be published today on the Public Health Wales dashboard but it hasn’t been updated since December 16th.
Mr Gething said: “We will publish figures this week on vaccination numbers.”
“We are making progress and on our last figures we were slightly ahead of England on a per head basis.”
“I appreciate that some people will be concerned but I can say categorically that people in Wales are not being left behind.”
“Our NHS is doing a fantastic job to deliver an unprecedented scale of vaccinations. Please be patient – NHS Wales has not forgotten you.” The health minister said.
Martin Jones told Deeside.com his parents, who live in Llangollen and are in their 90’s “have heard nothing about the vaccine.”
He said: “I called the local GP service and they told me they too knew nothing about it and their advice to call 119 or refer to the Public Health Wales website.”
“The former only provides phone options relating to testing and the latter has no specific information regarding the rollout.” He said.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The safety and protection of the most vulnerable people is at the heart of our response to the pandemic.”
“Health boards are starting to invite some people over 80 for vaccination now.”
“We are hoping the second vaccine – the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – will be approved by the UK regulator as this will help us accelerate our vaccination programme and provide more clinics in primary care settings, like GP practices.”
The University of Oxford and drug manufacturer AstraZeneca have applied to the health regulator for permission to roll out their Covid-19 vaccine, UK health minister Matt Hancock said on Wednesday.
“I’m delighted to be able to tell you that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine developed here in the UK has submitted its full data package to the MHRA for approval.”
‘This is the next step towards a decision on the deployment of the vaccine, which is already being manufactured including here in the UK.” Mr Hancock said during a Downing Street press conference.
