Posted on: Wednesday 2 December 2020
Today we received the welcome news that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine temporary authorisation for use based on evidence of safety and effectiveness.
40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have been secured by the UK Government on behalf of the UK.
Wales, like the other UK nations will now begin to receive its share and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board will start deployment, based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
The Health Board have operational plans in place and are ready to begin vaccinations, however they are currently awaiting national guidance on the deployment of the vaccine locally, which will be available in a matter of days.
The vaccine is likely to be in limited supply initially and due to this groups of people have been identified in a priority order to receive the vaccine.
This is set by and frequently update by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation. Further information about priority groups can be found at www.gov.uk.
The Health Board will now begin inviting people to book an appointment so that they can continue to move swiftly. The initial focus will be care home staff, in line with the current priority group, and they will also invite Health and Social care frontline staff who have previously registered for an appointment.
Full details on the vaccine will be made available at the point of vaccine authorisation. We know how important this is and will share this with people who book an appointment as soon as is possible after it is made available to the Health Board.
To read the full statement from Welsh Government, visit the
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board website.