North Wales care home set for first vaccine roll out trial this week

Care homes across north Wales will be the first to receive doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething confirmed that the rollout of the Pfizer BionTech vaccine will be piloted at a “designated care home in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board” area from Wednesday.

Around 6,000 people across Wales have already received their first doses in the last few days.

The vaccine needs to be administered in two doses, 21 days apart.

Care home residents and staff make up the highest priority for vaccinations, however issues with storage and transportation of the vaccine – which can only be moved a number of times and needs to be kept at very low temperatures along with rules around splitting batches – have meant that the rollout into care homes themselves has not yet happened.

The Welsh Government say they have discussed at length with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the vaccine’s manufacturer on how to repackage and transport the vaccine without compromising the standards of safety and efficiency.

This will mean health boards can take the vaccine to settings with at least five residents, rather than using it only in static vaccination centres, it has been explain that will take a number of days to train staff and ensure standard procedures are drawn up and validated.

At first the vaccine will be issued to care homes in proximity to hospital pharmacies, but it is planned for the vaccine to be available in other settings in coming weeks, once learnings from the care home pilot has been “captured”.

Speaking at today’s Welsh Government briefing, Mr Gething said: “We will begin vaccinating people living in care homes, starting in North Wales from Wednesday.

“We’re starting this phase the program slowly. We need to make sure that we can safely transport the vaccine to people who can’t come to clinic.

“The vaccine has to be stored in ultra low temperatures. Repackaging the vaccine into smaller quantities for use in care has to be done under strict conditions set by the regulator.

“There’s a risk that it becomes less potent if it is moved too much once it’s been thawed.

“This week, we will check that we can repackage and deliver the vaccine without wasting any – and crucially that it still protects people.

“If all goes well, this week, we will roll out care home vaccination at much greater pace ahead of Christmas, bringing a new level of protection to some of our most vulnerable people.”

We asked the health minister for clarity on the process, if it is a one off test with people being vaccinated or just a test of the delivery process. We also asked when the results of the test will be known, and if successful, how soon an all-Wales care home vaccination could be completed in a best case scenario.

The Health Minster, “It is about testing whether we can deliver the vaccine in a way that is safe and effective. We think we can start it up in North Wales, we’ll learn more from that then progressively roll them across the country.”

“I can’t give you an end date about when we will have completed vaccinations across the whole of Wales for care home residents, because that does rely on the supply the vaccine itself, which obviously, we’re not in control of. That is about the manufacturer being able to continue to supply, it is then about being able to get that into the country, as we have done thus far. So, those arrangements are about the UK Government being able to continue to do what it said it would do and by purchasing the vaccine for the whole of the UK, delivering it on a fair share basis that all four countries have signed up to.”

“If we do see disruption around Brexit, whatever form that is, then the UK Government needs to meet its current commitment to make sure that whatever those arrangements are, it will make sure that vaccines are delivered properly into the UK to help protect people across the country.”

“So there’s a range of points there that are very practical that the Welsh Government isn’t in control of, but whenever the vaccine is provided to us, we will make sure we use it in accordance with the advice we have on how to protect the most vulnerable people first.”

More details are expected on the rollout will be released later in the week.

As usual you can view the full Welsh Government briefing and Q&A session on the below video:

Yn fyw nawr gyda'r Gweinidog Iechyd | Live now with the Health Minister https://t.co/HXrQHR95RT

— Welsh Government (@WelshGovernment) December 14, 2020