More than 100,000 people in west Wales have now received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, as efforts are stepped up to roll-out the programme to those under the age of 70.
More than 92% of people in the first four priority groups across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire have now been given a vaccine - a total of 101,938 (as of Monday morning).
This means that the overwhelming majority of people over 70, older residents in care homes and their carers, health and social care workers, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable to coronavirus have received a vaccination.
Hywel Dda University Health Board confirmed the target set earlier this month to offer the vaccine to everyone in the first four priority groups by mid-February had been met, thanks to what they called “the biggest vaccination programme ever in the history of the NHS”.
The roll-out will now continue and thousands more people are set to be vaccinated at GP practices and mass vaccination centres across the three counties in the coming weeks and months.
The spread of coronavirus is down across the health board region, with the latest infection rate (for the seven days up to February 11) at 69.4 in Carmarthenshire, 24.8 in Ceredigion and 40.5 in Pembrokeshire. A week ago (based on the seven days up to February 4), those rates were 137.2, 59.2 and 65.2 respectively.
“This vaccination programme offers a real solution in the fight against Covid-19 and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played their part in this achievement,” said Steve Moore, chief executive of Hywel Dda University Health Board.
“I’d also like to thank our community in priority groups 1 to 4 who have come forward in large numbers to receive their vaccine. At the start of this programme we viewed success would mean 75% of each group receiving a vaccine.
“We have surpassed this in all four groups and this puts our three counties in a very strong position to protect the most vulnerable in our communities and our local NHS.
“We hope to see this high uptake continue as we move to vaccinate groups 5 to 9 by spring and to the rest of our adult population through the summer. Thank you."
As for what happens next, the health board has confirmed that people aged between 65 and 69 will receive letters in the next two weeks inviting them to attend a vaccine centre.
Meanwhile, focus will also turn to administering a second dose of a vaccine to those who received a first dose before Christmas, and further details will be released soon about when people in priority group 6 (people aged between 16 and 64 deemed to be ‘at-risk’) will be vaccinated.
However, the health board has reminded people that the next few weeks will see a “temporary reduction” in the use of the mass vaccination centres in the region. This is a planned and expected change and is caused by a need to “manage the logistics of delivering second doses in sequence” and a “reduction in the amount of vaccines being received”.
After this period, the health board hopes that the supply of vaccines will increase significantly from the beginning of March.
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Across Wales, 795,927 people had now received a first dose of a vaccine as of 10pm on Monday, and 7,251 had been given a first and second dose.
The seven-day coronavirus infection rate continues to fall at present. The latest rate is 88.2 (based on the seven days up to February 11), while a week ago (based on the seven days up to February 4) it was 114.3.
