Not receiving ‘fair share of vaccines in north of Wales’, say Conservatives

The Welsh Conservatives have called on the Welsh Government to guarantee that each health board across Wales gets its fair share of Covid-19 vaccines.

Despite Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board having 22 per cent of the population of Wales, it has only received 17 per cent of the vaccinations that were distributed by the Welsh Government up until January 8.

According to the Conservatives, if the distribution of the vaccine was in line with the population of health boards, then the north of Wales should have received around 5,000 more vaccines.

They have also called for the appointment of a Vaccine Minister in order to “end this disparity.”

Darren Millar, the Conservative MS for Clwyd West, said: “The Welsh Government made it clear that health boards would receive their vaccine stock allocations based on the priority group populations in their areas, but these figures suggest that this is not the case.

“North Wales, with one of the highest proportions of over 85-year-olds in Wales, is yet again at the bottom of the league table of vaccine supplies delivered by population.

“The Welsh Government needs to stop ignoring North Wales and give us the vaccines we need to protect vulnerable people.”

‘Priority’ 

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Doses are distributed to each of Wales’ health boards based on a population share of the priority groups. Each health board will have a different proportional allocation, appointment bookings and reserve lists, and individualised plans in place for how best to safely distribute the vaccine to their priority population, whilst keeping wastage to a minimum.”

Conservative Shadow Health Minister, Andrew RT Davies MS said: “The lack of vaccines for North Wales’ older population is a major concern as North Wales is lagging behind the rest of Wales in getting vaccines into the arms of people who need it most.

“These issues clearly show that the Welsh Government needs a Vaccine Minister to end this disparity, as well as creating a Vaccine Army to enable Wales to have 24/7 vaccinations.

“Despite what the Welsh Government are saying, this is a sprint, a sprint against the virus and it’s currently one that we are falling behind on.”