Covid vaccine: Wales rollout to start within days

The roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations will start in Wales "within a matter of days," the Welsh Government has said.

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use.

It will initially be prioritised for those over 80, care home staff and residents and those working in health and social care.

The jab offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness.

The Welsh Government said the vaccine would not be mandatory.

"Our intent is to vaccinate as many eligible people as possible, as swiftly as possible, safely, and with minimal vaccine waste," it said in a statement.

It said two specialist sites had been identified as appropriate delivery sites for the vaccine and local health boards would collect the vaccines directly from these sites.

People will be sent appointments with details of the location where they will receive the vaccination, dependent on where they are in the schedule and risk, it added.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "Today's news is a small glimmer of light at the end of what has been a long and dark tunnel...

"We must all continue to do our bit to prevent the spread of coronavirus - regular hand washing, social distancing, and wearing a face covering where required to protect yourself and others."

Wales' chief medical officer Frank Atherton told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast it was "just the start of a very long haul", but that "it does give us a bit of light at the end of the tunnel".

He said stocks of the vaccine would be delivered to the two locations "as early as this week", from where it will be distributed to local health boards before being rolled out next week.

But due to the extremely low storage temperatures required he said it could not be easily taken into GPs' surgeries or care homes.

Dr Atherton added that the military were helping, following a major exercise in the last couple of weeks and while he expected some "glitches in the system" he was confident about the plans.

"But we have a very good plan and I'm really looking forward to getting started - everyone is," he said.

The UK has already ordered 40 million doses - enough to vaccinate 20 million people, as two shots are needed.

Around 10 million doses should be available soon.

It is the fastest ever vaccine to go from concept to reality, taking only 10 months to follow the same developmental steps that normally span a decade.

Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader in Westminster and MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said the news was "fantastic" and there was "a cloud beginning to lift", especially for those in care homes and people who have been isolated.

"There's this prospect of being reunited with loved ones," she said. "We really need some hope. It's such good news."

Conservative MS for Aberconwy Janet Finch-Saunders said she had no concerns about the plans for the mass vaccination.

"The concern was always about whether a vaccine could be found and whether it would be approved, so today is a good day," she said.

As the NHS prepares for a challenging winter, with the additional pressures of delivering the vaccine, staff welcomed the news.

Dai Samuel, a consultant hepatologist at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital who had coronavirus earlier this year, said: "Excellent news and reflects the immense efforts and superb work undertaken by the medical research community."

It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how fight Covid-19 and build immunity.

An mRNA vaccine has never been approved for use in humans before, although people have received them in clinical trials.