Mark Drakeford has outlined the current planning being done for coronavirus vaccinations in future. The First Minister was speaking as he gave the final Welsh Government Covid press conference announcing the end of all restrictions. See full coverage here.
Mr Drakeford said that the advice of the UK-wide medical body the JCVI, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, would inform future Welsh Government decisions on vaccinations and that at the moment it "seems unlikely" that the majority of people in Wales will receive an additional Covid jab this year.
Most people in Wales have now had at least three jabs of vaccine and this has been the main driver behind falling death rates. People with medical vulnerabilities may have had as many as five doses of a Covid jab already.
However immunity doesn't last forever, at least not as strongly, so a further roll out is likely. However Mr Drakeford said that the final advice from the JCVI had not yet been received on how widespread that was likely to be.
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When questioned by WalesOnline about the matter he said: "So we've seen the preliminary advice of the JCVI. But it's not their final advice. And they were very at pains when they published their preliminary advice to say you shouldn't be just relying on this and that there will be a further final version of the advice."
Mr Drakeford did give an indication of what he though would happen saying: "To me, it looks as though they will advise us to move to a single annual system of vaccination, like flu vaccination - you get it once, you get it at the right time of year. So this is likely to be an autumn and early winter programme of vaccination.
"There is some debate still I think within the JCVI at the categories of people who should be included in that free vaccination programme. There are a couple of things in that it's how low down the age range should you go? Should this be for people over 80? Over 70? Over 65? We'll wait to see where that debate finally lands. And then if you do have an age cut-off, and I've got no evidence for this just to be clear, they decided to go for 70, then what about people below the age of 70 who are vulnerable in some way or another? What about unpaid carers? What about other groups who in previous rounds of vaccination have been covered?"
In concluding the First Minister said it "seems unlikely" that everyone in Wales will be offered a jab this year. He said: "I am expecting that we will have a campaign here in the autumn of vaccination campaign, that it will certainly cover the most elderly people in the population, and I'm hoping we will have advice from the JCVI that allows us to provide vaccination for vulnerable groups."
