All adults in Wales to be offered booster jab by end of January

The Health Minister has confirmed all eligible adults will be offered the booster Covid-19 vaccination by the end of January.

The Welsh Government says that NHS Wales has already started to ramp up the booster programme and is currently administering more than 19,000 vaccinations a day.

Over the coming weeks, we aim to give more than 200,000 vaccines a week.

Health boards will do this by providing more vaccination centres in easy-to-access locations, including walk-in and drive-through clinics with longer opening hours.

GPs and community pharmacies will continue to deliver the vaccine and local government, fire services and students will provide other support to clinics. We have also requested assistance from the military.

Tomorrow (8 December) marks one year since the first Covid-19 vaccination was administered in Wales.

Over the last year, the vaccination programme has involved;

• 58 vaccination centres and 46 hospitals
• More than 400 pharmacies and GPs
• 92 military personnel
• 96 mobile vaccination units
• 5 million vaccines administered

Health Minister Eluned Morgan will say: “The development and the roll-out of these vaccines has been a truly remarkable achievement.

“Thanks to an unprecedented global effort, we have several successful, effective and safe vaccines and have reached the vast majority of our population.

“However, the vaccines become less effective over time so it’s really important that people come forward to have a booster when invited to extend their protection. Millions of people have accepted the vaccine, it has saved lives and helped prevent serious illness in tens of thousands of people.

“I want to place on record my thanks to everyone involved in the vaccination programme in Wales for their hard work over the last year and for their help in the coming weeks.”

‘Priority order of age and vulnerability’

People will continue to be called in priority order of age and vulnerability.

The Health Minister added: “Please wait until you are invited for your booster and prioritise your appointment over everything else to support the hard-working staff and volunteers at our vaccination centres, who will be spending a second festive period helping to keep Wales safe.

“With high levels of the Delta variant in the community and the emergence of the Omicron variant, you can continue to disrupt the transmission of the virus by wearing a face covering in indoor public places, getting tested, self-isolating when positive and getting vaccinated.”

More than 80% of people aged 65 and over have had their booster vaccination.