MORE than 30,000 people in North Wales have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Teresa Owen, executive director of Public Health, said on January 19, that in the past week BCUHB had administered the highest number of vaccinations of any Welsh Health Board, which equated to 22 per cent of the cumulative number of first dose vaccines administered in Wales.

This compares to 11 per cent of the Welsh total two weeks ago.

Ms Owen said: "We started this week having vaccinated over 30,000 people since the beginning of the programme. We are confident that we have the capacity and the operational plan in place to meet the first target. This requires more than 184,000 vaccines to be administered before February 14. The only limiting factor will be the access to vaccine supplies.

 

"As of last week over a quarter of both Priority Groups One and Two (including those aged over 80) in North Wales have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. We aim for all people aged over 80 to have had their first dose of the vaccine by the end of next week.

"Both AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines now in use across the region. The ratio is approximately 1:4 AZ to Pfizer.

"All three Mass Vaccination Centres (MVCs) are now in use (Bangor, Llandudno and Deeside), in addition to three Hospital Vaccination Centres (HVCs) (Ysbyty Gwynedd, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Ysbyty Wrecsam Maelor). HVCs are working 12 hours a day, 3.5 days per week, while MVCs are working 12 hours a day, 6 days during week, commencing 19 January, then 7 days per week from 26 January.

"We have vaccinated nearly 50 per cent of staff in direct patient contact roles and currently have over 70 per cent of direct patient contact staff vaccinated or booked for their first dose by 29 January, and we expect this to increase based on experience over recent weeks."

Fferyllwyr Llyn, Abersoch Road, Llanbedrog, Pwllheli, was the first community pharmacy in Wales to deliver the AZ vaccine.

Letters have been sent to households across North Wales, in partnership with local authorities, setting out details of the vaccine roll-out.

All 98 GP surgeries in the region are now part of the vaccine rollout and 71 practices have already started to administer the vaccine, with the remaining practices due to take delivery of the vaccine this week.

Ms Owen said: "We are on track to complete all care home staff and resident vaccination by the end of the month as per the Welsh Government target. Staff and residents at all care homes in the West region, except for one which is currently in the red category due to a Covid-19 outbreak, have been vaccinated. Central and East Areas are on track.

"We have received over 40,000 visits last week to the vaccination section on the BCUHB website.

"In the week commencing the January 18, we plan to vaccinate another 30,000 people across North Wales. We will receive 21,000 doses of AZ vaccine this week (18/1/21), and 14 trays of the Pfizer vaccine.

"Following the introduction of GP practices into the programme, our local vaccination sites are not scheduled to open, however they can be mobilised within seven days. They will only be required when the number of vaccines available to us reaches over 40,000 per week, and/or where GP Clusters request a vaccination site."

Dr Gillian Richardson, senior professional adviser to Wales’ chief medical officer and SRO on Covid-19 vaccination programme in Wales, said: "The biggest vaccination programme Wales has ever seen is currently underway, as the covid-19 vaccine is rolled out across all parts of the country.

North Wales Pioneer: Dr Gillian Richardson, Senior Professional Adviser to Wales’ chief medical officer.Dr Gillian Richardson, Senior Professional Adviser to Wales’ chief medical officer.

"The NHS is working incredibly hard to get the vaccine out to as many people as possible, and as quickly and safely as possible.

"More than 162,000 people have already been vaccinated – equivalent to around five per cent of the Welsh population – with thousands more receiving the vaccine every day.

"We are continuing to speed up vaccination as more supplies become available. The first pharmacies in Wales began administering the vaccine last week as part of a pilot in North West Wales.

"A mix of vaccination sites and centres have been selected to ensure everyone across the country has equal access to the vaccine. People will be asked to attend either a mass or community centre, hospital, GP practice, pharmacy or mobile unit.

"Every eligible adult will be invited to a site by their Health Board/GP.

"We can’t underestimate the sheer scale of this effort. We are at the early stages of a huge undertaking, and a lot has already been achieved – equivalent to five months of childhood programme vaccinations in just five weeks.

"You will be contacted when it is time to receive your vaccine. Your vaccination will take place at a centre or clinic or, if you live in a care home or can’t leave your house, a mobile team will come to you.

"I know everyone is really keen to receive the vaccine but please wait until you are contacted for your turn," Dr Richardson added.

"The rollout of the vaccine is very positive news and offers us real hope for the future. But we continue to face a serious situation with the spread of the virus.

"For now it is vitally important we all follow the rules to protect each other.

"We must stay at home except for the activities allowed, work from home if we can, maintain social distancing and wear a face covering when required."