Vaccine roll-out – Where & how many?
-
Posts
-
Jinbow thank you. You have given more information in 3 short posts than I have seen or heard anywhere on the media.
Thanks Jim that’s reassuring, There had been rumours that vaccinations would not be taking place in surgeries in Wales only in England
I read lots of accounts of how well the vaccine is being rolled out. It’s being rolled out to specific local vaccination sites, GP-led centres, hospital sites, local pharmacies and seven mass vaccination hubs. Football stadia and even supermarket parking sites are being offered for drive-through vaccinations. And this is just the start, it will improve more as additional qualified staff become available with extra training, and use of additional resources such as pharmacists, dentists, St John’s and the army to name a few obvious ones. Which is excellent news. Except all of this is in England. Now my point here is not to raise this as a cheap shot at the WG, and I remain confident that we will get up to speed. But my point is, what is happening here now? Where are the details? What are the plans for mass rollout? The few figures I have read for Wales are relatively small numbers. What are the plans for Wrexham now that we have got over the vaccine ‘supply chain’ problems? What are the Council and Health Board doing? All we’ve heard are rumours about Plas Madoc and the Glyndwr University sites being potential centres. Things will soon change rapidly, and this post will soon be out of date, but right now this is a slow start. The only local article I read is a Betsi Cadwaladr health board spokesperson apologising to people who had to wait 3 hours in a vaccine centre in Llandudno. I take more reassurance from Jimbow (thank you Jimbow, at least we know something is happening) than I get from the authorities here.
I heard Sir Tom Jones tell us on New Year’s Eve that he has had the vaccine, as he is 80 years old. I’m pleased for Sir Tom of course, but he lives in England. All I know is that I have relatives in their 80’s and 90’s here in north Wales, and know of others locally, and no-one has yet heard a thing. I am not asking for information for me personally, I am currently in Group 6 of the rollout priority list and do not expect any vaccination any time soon. But that’s fine, I am happy to bide my time. I will continue to lead a low-profile existence while I wait, but I do think that the elderly and vulnerable people of Wales deserve to be better informed than this.
The population of the U.K. is approximately 66 million, that of Wales is just over 3 million. If, and I’m sure it is, the available vaccine is being rolled out proportionally it follows that for every dose produced, Wales would receive 1 dose in every 22 available.
Wales has made a good start on the vaccination programme and over the next few weeks there will be little difference in the proportion of population receiving the vaccine, although not necessarily overall numbers.
It is a trying time for everyone but let’s add a little common sense into the equation. The ‘I want it and I want it now’ mentality achieves nothing. The same sentiments probably being echoed across the U.K.
Yours and my turn will come, after all, patience is a virtue.
Exactly Comment 8or. We all know that the situation is dire, we know what we have to do to save lives but some of us are unpaid carers of elderly, in my case more elderly than me, relatives. Putting on a coat, hat & gloves is not quite as simple when it is on someone else. Transport needs to be planned, if working, time off work needs to be arranged. Seeing queues in Llandudno fills me with dread.
The vaccine isn’t going to be fully effective unless the second part is given at the right time.
I just hope the WAG recognise this, even if the outfit run by ‘Britain’s Trump’ do not.
The 4 UK Chief Medical Officers agree with the JCVI that at this stage of the pandemic prioritising the first doses of vaccine for as many people as possible on the priority list will protect the greatest number of at risk people overall in the shortest possible time and will have the greatest impact on reducing mortality, severe disease and hospitalisations and in protecting the NHS and equivalent health services. Operationally this will mean that second doses of both vaccines will be administered towards the end of the recommended vaccine dosing schedule of 12 weeks. This will maximise the number of people getting vaccine and therefore receiving protection in the next 12 weeks.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
