Coronavirus infection rates are rising again across Wales. At present, the case rate per 100,000 population across the country is at 239.2, with a total of 7,541 cases for a rolling seven day period up to April 2.
There are nine areas of Wales with a Covid infection rate above 600. You can read more about that by clicking here. The Welsh Government has announced that a spring booster dose is being rolled out after the JCVI, as part of its latest review of the vaccination programme, recommended an additional dose for the most vulnerable individuals in society.
So what do we know about the plans to roll out the additional booster, and what are the plans for an another vaccine for Wales's general population? Here we've detailed all we know so far about plans being discussed going forward. Get stories like this straight to your inbox with our newsletters.
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The booster for the most vulnerable
A second booster dose in the spring will be offered to:
- Adults aged 75 years and over
- Residents in a care home for older adults
- Individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed
What's been said about a booster for the rest of the population?
A Covid-19 vaccination strategy for 2022 has been published by the Welsh Government. It says: "As we cautiously move away from an emergency pandemic footing and towards a time when coronavirus becomes endemic, we must also look at the provision of our vaccination services as a whole, learning from our experience during the pandemic and ensuring our services are fit for purpose and for the future.
"There is now the expectation that Covid-19 vaccination, as with the flu jab, will become a regular programme. In planning for a more stable delivery, to maintain protection, we are working with health boards to plan for some of the more likely scenarios into the spring and further into autumn and winter 2022-23.
"The oldest and most vulnerable people in Wales will need further protection. Winter remains the season when the threat from COVID-19 is greatest both for individuals and for health communities and, for the purposes of longer term planning, the JCVI has also signalled an autumn 2022 programme of vaccinations for people who are at higher risk of severe Covid-19, such as those of older age and in clinical risk groups. Precise details of an autumn programme will be made available at a later stage.
"We are also retaining the need to stand up surge capacity if we need to respond to anew pandemic wave, or outbreak of a new variant, but we hope this capacity will never be needed again."
What's planned for the longer term?
The strategy statement adds: "In the longer term, we are looking at all our vaccination programmes and considering what we have learned during the pandemic and if this can be applied to other vaccination programmes. Our Covid-19 vaccination programme has been world leading. Our aim is that all of our vaccination programmes should be world leading.
"Our existing vaccination services are critical in protecting us from disease, including life threatening illnesses in the early years and later in life. Our vaccination services are effective but there is always room for improvement and the lessons identified through the Covid-19 vaccination programme will help. For example, increasing the uptake and equity of coverage of some of our vaccinations aimed at the more elderly and vulnerable. Equally, there are also lessons our COVID-19 programme can learn from our existing programmes."
