Vaccinations

We continue to support Hywel Dda and the Welsh Government with its roll out of the vaccine programme

Vaccinations are now well underway and continued to be prioritised on the basis of risk exposure to Covid-19, in line with national priority groups.

As the vaccine is rolled out, we need to continue to follow the safety rules and keep protecting ourselves and our loved ones.

More than 1.5 million people in Wales will get the vaccine in the first stage of the roll out, but it will take time to protect everyone.

There are three types of Covid-19 vaccine available. One made by Pfizer-BioNTech, one developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, and a third vaccine, approved on 8 January 2021 – the Moderna vaccine. The first supplies of the Moderna vaccine will not be available in the UK until the Spring.

The people who are most at risk of catching coronavirus and developing serious illnesses will get the vaccine first. This includes people living in care homes; the over 80s and frontline health and care workers.

As more supplies of the vaccines are delivered, the pace will increase and more clinics will be set up during January. More than 60 GP practices across Wales will be running special vaccination clinics from mid-January including GPs in each of our counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

You will be invited to have the vaccine when it’s your turn. You can choose whether to have the vaccine or not. You will receive information about the jab to help you make up your mind if you have any concerns.

Getting your vaccination appointment

You will receive an invitation when you are due for your vaccination. It will include details of where to go to receive it. You don’t need to apply for an appointment – please don’t contact your GP, health board, hospital or local authority about an appointment. Please let them focus on their important work.

Everyone will get two doses of the vaccine but you will have a high level of protection after the first dose. You will be called back for your second dose within 12 weeks of the first.

When you have your Covid-19 vaccine, you will get a credit card-sized NHS Wales immunisation card. This will act as a reminder about your second dose and will also have information about how to report any side effects.

Priority Groups

The priority list to receive the vaccine has been agreed by the UK’s independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and is being followed by all four nations in the UK.There are two phases:

In the first phase, vaccinations will be given according to age and risk of serious illness if someone catches coronavirus.

1. People living in a care home for older adults and their staff carers
2. All those 80 years of age and older and frontline health and social care workers
3. All those 75 years of age and over
4. All those 70 years of age and over and people who are extremely clinically vulnerable (also known as the “shielding” group) – people in this group will previously have received a letter from the Chief Medical Officer advising them to shield
5. All those 65 years of age and over
6. All individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions*, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
7. All those 60 years of age and over
8. All those 55 years of age and over
9. All those 50 years of age and over

Once the people in the first nine priority categories have been safeguarded, then the final adult population group, those aged 16-49 (with no underlying health conditions) can be considered for vaccination. This will be the second phase.

Further recommendations about this second phase are awaited from JCVI. As soon as we have more details about the second phase, we will let you know.

• Hywel Dda: More information on the roll-out in the Hywel Dda area
• Public Health Wales: More information around safety and eligibility
• Public Health Wales: Daily vaccination data published at 12pm daily