Local vaccination centre remains six day a week operation after concerns over vaccine supply (+ full council update)
Update: The Health Board have told us there is “no issue with the supply of Pfizer so the Catrin Finch Centre will operate over six days next week” – with the earlier update from Wrexham Council mentioning a possible 3-4 day operation due to concerns over supply.
Original information below…
Wrexham Council has issued another weekly update on the state of the pandemic locally, with news that restricted supply of vaccine means one large local vaccination centre will reduce its opening.
Last week the Catrin Finch centre was spooled up to a six day a week opening, with the caveat that it would remain or exceed that if supply of vaccine allowed. It appears that increase was short lived, as now it is moving to a 3-4 day a week operation for the next week or so, “because of lower supplies of Pfizer vaccine expected”.
We have asked the local health board on detail of where the vaccine supply issue lies, when it is expected to be resolved, and in terms of number of doses how many less are turning up than expected – and as of yet there is no reply.
Wrexham’s figures still are the worst in Wales, being the only local authority area in the 300’s per 100k with nearby Flintshire being the only one in the 200’s. However, that is marked improvement on recent weeks – having halved from two weeks ago.
The Council note that hospital admissions for Covid-19 in North Wales (178 for week ending 24th January – a figure that PHW have updated from the 144 reported last Friday) have plateaued, but occupancy levels remain very high, placing continued strain on over-stretched local hospitals. No regular update has been forthcoming from the healthboard on the local figures or outbreak since the 22nd, despite a request for the latest information.
Today’s update also says “Sadly, deaths from Covid-19 in North Wales have quadrupled over the last three weeks to a record high (102 for week ending 24th January).”
The update contains information on local vaccinations, however there was also a further update from Welsh Government on the Wales-wide picture – and some local data earlier today – you can read about that here.
The full council update from today is copied in full below, as usual any bolding or italics is from Wrexham Council:
Covid-19: WCBC Weekly Briefing Note, 5th February 2021
COMMUNICATIONS
Please share this document and the attached graphics and animations (GIFs) widely in your communities.
The key messages today are:
Cases are falling, but we all need to stay vigilant
If you’re aged 80 or over and have not yet had your jab yet, call 03000 840004, now
If you’re aged 65 to 79, your jab is coming soon, but wait to be called
Beware of bogus calls – do not pay any money or give out your bank details
A link to today’s Council public briefing note, which you can also share on social media, is provided here: https://news.wrexham.gov.uk/covid-19-briefing-note-steady-progress-made/
DATA ON THE VIRUS
The County Borough as a Whole compared to other Councils in North Wales (Table 1)
Comment
The data show that the virus is reducing, with the rate per 100,000 population (309.7) having halved from two weeks ago (660.5), but the positivity rate (20.3%) is falling much more slowly (it having been 21.6% last Friday and 26.5 two weeks ago). Overall, the virus is halving every 2 weeks, which is an improvement on the 3 weeks reported last time. However, Wrexham is worst in Wales and the figures remain high.
The ‘UK’ or ‘Kent’ variant accounts for 90% (and rising) of new cases in North Wales, compared to 85% last week. There are a small number of the ‘South Africa’ variant, which are being very closely monitored and controlled. As yet, there are no cases of the much more worrying ‘Brazil’ variant. Local household transmission of the UK variant, rather spread of other variants by visitors, remains the key driver of the disease.
Hospital admissions for Covid-19 in North Wales (178 for week ending 24th January – a figure that PHW have updated from the 144 reported last Friday) have plateaued, but occupancy levels remain very high, placing continued strain on over-stretched local hospitals. There is also an outbreak of hospital-acquired transmissions at the Maelor hospital.
Sadly, deaths from Covid-19 in North Wales have quadrupled over the last three weeks to a record high (102 for week ending 24th January). The most recent week’s datum is tentative and will be revised next week.
The Sub-Areas of Wrexham (the 18 ‘MSOA’ sub-areas used by PHW in their daily Tableau) (Table 2)
Comment
15 of the 18 ‘MSOA’ sub-areas of Wrexham have improved since a week ago, but 3 have got worse. For the first time since 14th December 2020 there are no areas with more than 700/100,000 population, a welcomed development, though sub-areas with rates above 200/100k can be regarded as the new ‘hotspots’.
- 0 have recorded their worst figures since 20th October
- 0 have greater than 800/100k, compared to 2 on the 29th January
- 0 have greater than 700/100k (the old hotspots) compared to 2 on the 29th
- 0 have greater than 550/100k, compared to 5 on the 29th
- 15 are in the worst decile (10%) in Wales, compared to 14 on the 29th, but this rise is because the threshold for this decile is much lower (229/100k) than on last Friday (291) and two weeks ago (460), reflecting the fact that cases have fallen much more quickly elsewhere.
- 9 have less than 300/100k, compared to 4 on the 29th and 1 on 22nd
- 4 have less than 200/100k, compared to 1 on the 29th
Settings
As household transmission is the principal driver of the disease, peoples’ home are the main setting, followed, some way below, by care homes, the Maelor Hospital and the prison, which have outbreaks. There are also several work-place clusters.
MANAGING THE VIRUS
General
The Level 4 Alert lockdown remains in force and has definitely reduced the rate of infection. Welsh Government (WG) will review this measure in two weeks.
Schools
The First Minister has announced that if there is a fall in positive cases, consideration will be given to younger children returning to school after the half term break. This would mean that children in the Foundation Phase (3 to 7 year olds) would return on the 22nd February. Schools would be required to continue to provide remote learning for those students not returning for face-to-face learning. They would also be required to continue to make on-site provision for vulnerable children and children of key workers.
Discussions with employers and the unions have taken place this week, but there are number of issues to be resolved, including clarity on further mitigation measures. A formal announcement is expected later today.
Other Council Services
The Council is continuing to provide critical services as publicised on our website.
Vaccination Programme
Summary of daily and weekly data on the rollout of the vaccine across Wales, North Wales and in Wrexham (Table 3).
Comment
- New Data
Since yesterday, BCUHB have begun publishing data at a council level and the keys ones are included in Table 3. However, there are some anomalies in these data and between them and those published by PHW, which, presumably, will be ironed out in the coming days. The full data source can be found on BCUHB’s website at Vaccinations statistics – Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (nhs.wales)
- Overall Progress (Table 3)
The good news is that more than 500,000 vaccines have been administered in Wales and more than 100,000 in North Wales (in fact more than 120,000) and that the national and regional vaccination programmes are on track to meet the mid-February target of vaccinating all of the Priority 1-4 most vulnerable groups.
- 80 year olds
The vast majority of people aged 80 and older have now been vaccinated, and those who have not are advised urgently to call 03000 840004 to ensure that 100% are vaccinated.
- Wrexham Care Homes
To date, BCUHB data show that nearly 80% of residents in Wrexham care homes and over 80% of staff have been vaccinated. With a number of homes expected to come out of their formal periods of incubation in the next 10 days there is a strong expectation of achieving close to 100% of residents within the next fortnight. Given the level of homes that have had active cases, this will be a significant achievement.
- Local Vaccination Centre
The LVC at the Catrin Finch Centre on the University campus was open six days a week this week between 8am to 6pm. Because of lower supplies of Pfizer vaccine expected next week and potentially the following week, it is likely to open for 3-4 days again.
- Wrexham GP Practices
GP practices are working along with the Local Vaccination Centre to progress through the priority groups. With most 80+ year olds vaccinated, their current focus is on people aged 70 to 79.
More information on vaccinations can be found via the following links:
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