Posted: Tue 19th Jan 2021

A view from Wrexham’s Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jan 19th, 2021

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).

Wrexham MS Lesley Griffiths writes…

The vast majority of us were more than happy to see the back of 2020 but, regretfully, the beginning of 2021 has proved to be equally challenging. The new, highly infectious variant of coronavirus has quickly seized a firm foothold in our region and while there is no evidence to suggest the new strain causes more serious illness, it has added to the enormous pressure facing our NHS. Due to the rising number of cases, Wales was the first country to re-enter lockdown on 20 December. Although the move was not universally welcomed, I believe most will now agree it was the right course of action. The lockdown will last at least six weeks, with the regulations due to be reviewed again on 29 January. I am grateful to the majority of residents staying at home and following the guidelines but everyone has a part to play. We are all weary of the restrictions but if we all do our bit, we can help keep Wrexham safe, help save lives and protect the NHS.

https://twitter.com/WelshGovernment/status/1350910767047069698

While the start of 2021 has been tough, the Covid-19 vaccine rollout does give us reason to be optimistic. Many constituents have contacted me about its progress and I have met regularly with officials and the Chair of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) in recent days and weeks.

Wales, like all UK nations, receives a population-based share of the vaccine, which is the fairest and most equitable way of administering the jab as stocks start to increase.

With supplies of both the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines now becoming more readily available, the Welsh Government detailed its Vaccination Plan at the beginning of last week. The strategy outlined three key milestones. The first of which was that all care home residents and staff, frontline health and social care staff, everyone over 70 and everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable will be offered vaccination by mid-February. By the spring, subject to supply, everyone over 50 and all those who are at risk due to an underlying health condition will be vaccinated and by the autumn, the focus will be to offer Covid-19 vaccines to everyone else, in line with the latest advice from the JCVI.

Last Wednesday (13 Jan), I received a further update from BCUHB. It confirmed Wrexham’s two Local Vaccination Centres will be located at Glyndwr University and Plas Madoc Leisure Centre. As well as the centres, the vaccine will be administered by GP surgeries, mobile units, pharmacies and the military. Some GP surgeries in Wrexham are offering the vaccine and from last week, those registered have been able to order supplies of the Oxford vaccine direct, which will help accelerate the process.

As of Friday, over 126,000 vaccines had been administered in Wales, with BCUHB having the highest cumulative total. From today, the North Wales Health Board hope to start administering 30,000 vaccines a week. Infrastructure and workforce will continue to grow and develop in the days ahead, ultimately enabling the Health Board to offer 80,000 vaccines per week.

Subject to supplies, BUCHB is aiming to offer the vaccine to all care home staff and residents, all frontline health and social care staff and everyone aged 80 and over by the end of this month.

The vaccine rollout is a mammoth task and I am grateful to the Health Board for the updates. It is an uncertain time but I hope constituents are reassured an incredible amount of work is taking place in implementing what is the largest vaccination programme in our history. With the situation evolving constantly, I will continue to keep in close contact with the Health Board and ensure constituents are kept up-to-date with the latest information.

Throughout the pandemic, the Welsh Government has done everything in its power to support people across the country. With schools closed to the majority of students, the Welsh Government announced more than 35,000 laptops and tablets will be provided to learners over the next few weeks to help them study from home.

https://twitter.com/WelshGovernment/status/1350352143740530695

Latest figures show over £1.6 billion of Welsh Government support has reached businesses since April last year. Last week, a new £180m fund aimed at supporting hospitality, tourism and leisure businesses was launched. A number of local firms, such as Isringhausen on the Industrial Estate, have benefited from the support, which in turn has helped protect people’s livelihoods. I hope even more local businesses are successful via this latest round of funding.

https://twitter.com/WGEconTransport/status/1349305572840116224

This remains an incredibly stressful and uncertain time for many people in Wrexham. If there is anything I could help you with, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

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Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South constituency Members of Parliament and Members of the Senedd to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. (You can view an archive here).

 



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