GET READY TO ROLL
New vaccine arrives at Welsh GP surgeries as roll-out will ensure ‘far greater volume’ available in coming weeks:
THE new Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out in GP surgeries in parts of Wales this week. Hywel Dda University Health Board, which manages health care in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, has confirmed that the new vaccine will be administered to people over the age of 80 in the coming days.
In the past few weeks, more than 7,000 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been provided to the health board, who have in turn vaccinated care home staff and patient-facing NHS workers.
Now, a limited supply of the new vaccine will be available in the coming week and GP practices will call in residents over 80 to receive their vaccinations. The health board has said that a “far greater volume” of the new vaccine will be available throughout January.
It is hoped that by mid-January a growing number of GP practices across the region will be in a position to call patients in to receive their vaccinations, which will also be used to immunise more care home residents.
Meanwhile, health and care staff will continue to have arrangements made for them to be vaccinated.
“This pandemic has been such a frightening time for our patients, communities and our NHS and care staff,” said Steve Moore, chief executive of Hywel Dda University Health Board, who are also working on setting up community based vaccination centres in Aberystwyth, Llanelli and Haverfordwest.
“We acknowledge there has been a challenge also in starting what is the biggest mass vaccination programme the NHS has ever seen.
“But we are really pleased to have already vaccinated thousands of people in the Hywel Dda area. We are so grateful for the new hope the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine offers our communities. It is a far easier vaccine for us to take into our communities and we are grateful to all the teams working together to achieve and expand this programme.
“We would ask our communities to bear with us. Please don’t phone your GP or hospital to find out when your vaccine will be, but be reassured that they will call you in at the appropriate time. But also please get ready to accept the vaccine when you are offered it. It will offer you great protection from the disease that has so drastically affected all our lives.”
Dr Sion James, deputy medical director for primary care and community services at Hywel Dda, added: “This is an exciting time for Primary Care Contractors to be part of a historical vaccination programme, working collaboratively with our colleagues in the health board.
“We ask that patients wait until they are called to be vaccinated as we will be working through the JCVI priority groups to ensure fair and equitable access to the vaccine.”
Dr Chris Williams, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “We welcome the announcement by the Welsh Government of the roll-out of the second coronavirus vaccine (from Oxford/AstraZeneca) in Wales.
“The effects of the vaccines may not be seen nationally for some time, and with Wales at alert level four we must continue to follow the advice on keeping Wales safe. Stay at home, meet only the people you live with, maintain social distancing, wash your hands regularly, and work from home if you can.”
An Aneurin Bevan University Health Board statement said the Oxford jab approval would help “accelerate our vaccination programme” with plans to use “a combination of mass vaccination centres and mobile units to take the vaccine out to people who are unable to get to a centre”.
Batches of the newly-approved coronavirus vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca have also started arriving at hospitals across the UK ahead of the jab’s rollout.
Some 530,000 doses of the vaccine will be available for rollout across the UK from Monday with vulnerable groups already identified as the priority for immunisation.
Wales will receive doses based on a population share and a top medical adviser has said dentists and optometrists could be part of an effort to administer it as quickly as possible.
One of the first hospitals in the UK to take delivery of a batch on Saturday morning was the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, part of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Dr George Findlay, chief medical officer and deputy chief executive at the trust, said the vaccination programme gives NHS staff “more confidence” coming into work.
As it can be kept at normal fridge temperature he said this vaccine is “much easier” to administer when compared with the jab from Pfizer and BioNTech, which needs cold storage of around -70C.
Rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab began almost a month ago with more than a million people across the UK having already received their first coronavirus jab. Second doses of either vaccine will now take place within 12 weeks rather than the 21 days that was initially planned with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab following a change in guidance which aims to accelerate immunisation.
Among those to be vaccinated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab from next week will be vulnerable NHS staff and social care workers who are at risk.