‘Vaccinating residents of care homes presents logistical challenges’
VACCINATING elderly residents against Covid-19 in more than 1,000 care homes across Wales presents challenges that are difficult to overcome, the Health and Social Care Minister has said.
Vaughan Gething said problems with the transportation and storage of the Pfizer vaccine, as it needs to be kept below -70C, meant it would be difficult to vaccinate vulnerable care home residents.
He said that when the Oxford vaccine was approved for use, it would be a better option as it could be more easily stored.
Mr Gething told the Senedd: “Because of the particular characteristics of the Pfizer vaccine, we don’t think we’re going to be able to safely take it to care homes.
“That means we’re going to have a smaller number of vaccination centres that we’ll need to bring people to.
“Some care home residents therefore won’t be within the first few weeks of delivery of that vaccine.
“That is a challenge and that means that care home residents, who are right at the top of the vulnerability list, we’re not going to be able to deliver the vaccine to them.
“They will get some protection, though, from us in our ability to prioritise staff who work in those environments, as well as our frontline healthcare staff.
“I’m still optimistic that this vaccine will make a real difference. The
Oxford vaccine gives us a much greater ability to take it out because that is a vaccine you can, essentially, store in a fridge, so with significantly fewer logistical challenges to deliver.”
Wales’ chief medical officer, Dr Frank Atherton, said the Welsh Government was “currently exploring ways” to get the Pfizer vaccine to care home residents, but there were “particular challenges” to overcome.
He said there was a clear list of priorities within the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) guidance and all four nations “are intending to follow that priority list and work down it”.
“However, that has to take into account operational concerns. I think it would be scandalous to waste the vaccine and not to use it wisely,” Dr Atherton said.
Dr Gill Richardson, co-chairman of the Covid-19 Vaccine Programme Board, said people living in Wales would be “brought to the vaccine” in the first week of immunisation roll-out.
“We will be prioritising those that we can safely deliver an effective vaccine to,” Dr Richardson told the press conference.
“And then as we learn more
about the vaccine – and we are all learning at a UK level – it’s very much hoped that a mobile model can be developed so that we can safely deploy to care homes without putting care home residents at risk of bringing them to a centre unnecessarily.”
Plaid Cymru Shadow Health Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “This is a very important turning
point but there are still concerns around the inability to vaccinate care home residents.
“Whilst Vaughan Gething may have provided assurances that Wales will get its population share of vaccines with no delay and that there’ll be equity of access wherever people are, we need to see that being delivered on the ground – with a clear timetable.”