Why some areas are ahead in giving jabs
MORE than half of those aged 18 to 39 in Wales have already had their first Covid-19 vaccination while in England the NHS has only just allowed people as young as 36 to book their jab.
At the weekend, Wales had given the first jab to 80% of its adult population which is some way ahead of England (68%), Scotland (67%) and Northern Ireland (68%).
The latest figures show 61.5% of those aged 30-39 have had their first vaccine dose and 42% of those aged 18 to 29 have had theirs too. That’s despite the fact many health boards aren’t “officially” vaccinating the youngest age group yet.
It’s only because they’ve charged through the older age groups that they’ve been able to move onto the next group lower down the priority list.
The latest data from Public Health Wales (up to May 9) shows Betsi Cadwaladr health board has given first jabs to nearly half of those in the 18-29 age group – that’s 43,889 people in total.
At the other end of the scale, Aneurin Bevan has so far reached 17.5% of those aged 18 to 29, which is equivalent to 14,376 people. Cardiff and Vale health board, which has the highest number of young people out of all the health boards in Wales, has given 40,125 first jabs to people aged 18 to 29, which is 41% of that age group.
On Tuesday, Cardiff and Vale health board said it had arranged for everyone over the age of 18 to have their first vaccine dose by the end of May. That would make it the first place in Wales and one of the first in the UK to offer a jab to all adults.
The rate of vaccination between areas within some individual health boards differs significantly. For example, in Betsi Cadwaladr, 67% of those aged 18 to 29 in Conwy have received their first jab whereas in Wrexham it’s half this with 33% getting theirs.
In Cwm Taf Morgannwg, the community vaccination teams are focusing on the 30 to 39 age group this week. As of Tuesday, 75% of 40 to 49 year olds have had their first dose while 55% of 30 to 39-year-olds have had their first dose, the health board said. And it is still booking and sending out appointment letters to this age group.
Those aged 18 to 29 are on the reserve list meaning they can book an appointment at short notice. It had sent round a late call on Saturday as some last minute vaccine stock became available at the Merthyr Tydfil community vaccination centre. All the slots were filled and no vaccine went to waste, but this is only done when the reserve list for that particular community vaccination centre has been booked, and they need to use the vaccine within an hour.
A spokesman for Cwm Taf added that the number of ‘no-shows’ for vaccine appointments continued to rise at its community vaccination centres.
A spokesman for Betsi Cadwaldr said the differences across the health board area would even out over the coming weeks. Currently, people aged 18 to 29 are being invited by letter, phone and text message and the health board also has short notice appointments on a first come first served basis.
Gill Harris, executive director of nursing and midwifery for BCUHB, said: “We are continuing to administer our supply of vaccines as quickly as they are received and prioritising people in age order with the most clinically appropriate vaccine.
“Our distribution of vaccines attempts to take into account the population size of priority groups in different local authority areas, which can vary significantly across North Wales. However, our ability to do this is limited by the strict handling requirements of the Pfizer vaccine, which arrives in trays of 1,170 doses, and cannot be easily split.
“Over time these small differences compound and lead to variations in percentage vaccination rates across different local authority areas. We are continually monitoring this and where variation exists, such as with certain age cohorts in North East Wales, we are and have reprioritised vaccine distribution and booked additional clinics. In the coming weeks we expect any variation to even out.”
In Powys, a spokesman for the health board said: “Invitations have been issued to everyone aged 30 and over, and are nearly concluded for everyone aged 18 to 29.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said the vaccine roll out was in line with advice from the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JVCI). They said: “To meet JCVI guidance, and deliver the vaccine programme in the most efficient way, age cohorts are appointed from NHS records which does not take into account the local authority people live in.
“The 18 to 29 age group will differ in size across Wales and health boards. However we are confident that once a health board has achieved an uptake of 75% or higher there will be consistency across all seven health board areas.
“PHW gives advice daily to the NHS in Wales on the delivery of the programme. We encourage everyone in the 18 to 29 group to get vaccinated.”