July Welsh jab target still on track, says top medic
‘‘ We do know that there will be that little bit of extra effort to catch everybody, but the fact that we have already had 70% of the 40 to 49 age group having their first vaccine is a great commendation for Wales - Dr Gill Richardson
THE doctor in charge of the vaccine programme in Wales is confident that the target of having all eligible adults vaccinated by the end of July is on track.
Dr Gill Richardson has revealed that 90% of people over the age of 60 in Wales have been vaccinated, 95% of over-80s and 70% of people aged 40 to 49 have been vaccinated, which are some of the best rates in the UK.
“A lot of people are just relieved to be having their vaccine and are really looking forward to the younger people getting theirs,” she told BBC Radio Wales.
“We do know that there will be that little bit of extra effort to catch everybody, but the fact that we have already had 70% of 40 to 49 age group having their first vaccine is a great commendation for Wales.
“We are well on track to meet the target of getting the whole of the adult population done by the end of July.”
Latest Public Health Wales figures show that the number of new coronavirus cases reported in Wales this week has fallen to levels last seen in August 2020.
Wales recorded no new Covid-19 deaths and only 33 positive cases on Tuesday, the lowest number of daily cases in eight months since August 25.
The infection rate across Wales now stands at 11.9 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days up to April 22, a decrease from 12.2 on Tuesday, and the figures also show that 1,800,428 people have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 715,425 people have had both doses.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board are on auto-scheduled vaccinations for people aged 28 to 49 and people aged between 25 and 49 can apply to be on the reserve list in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board area.
On the subject of supply, Dr Richardson said there had been some bumps along the way, but “the supply is fairly steady”.
She added: “It is still a little on the low side until we reach the middle of May when we will see some vaccines coming in.
“We have got enough for rolling out all our second doses because we started
very early on that programme back in February and we have been doing that gradually at the same time as the first doses.”
The subject of booster vaccines in the autumn is also being discussed with medical experts in other parts of the country.
“We are certainly looking at the autumn and when we will be needing to perhaps give booster vaccines,” Dr Richardson said. “It depends on the research on the waning of our immunity.
“It looks like the first course of vaccine does give good protection for up to a year but it is quite possible that we will be doing autumn boosters for the high-risk groups.
“We are still looking and working out all the evidence.”