Dear Colleagues,

Following an announcement made today by the Cardiff & Vale University Health Board on the latest plans for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccinations, I wanted to provide you with a brief update on what this means for the local authority.

The rollout of the Mass Vaccination Programme is beginning to accelerate, particularly with the introduction of the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine, and today the Cardiff & Vale University Health Board has made a commitment to ensure that all frontline social care staff will vaccinated by the end of the month. 

While the latest news of the vaccination programme is undoubtedly positive, I must once again emphasise that the coronavirus situation in the Vale of Glamorgan is still extremely serious, and we must remember that Wales remains at Alert Level 4, so please continue to follow the Welsh Government restrictions.

In the meantime, the Council continues to work with the Health Board to draw up the plans for social care staff vaccination, and those staff due to receive the vaccine will receive further details in the coming days.

For those who receive the vaccine it is important to note that even once staff have received the vaccination they must still ensure they wear the appropriate PPE while in work and continue to follow the current public health guidance and wash their hands frequently, maintain a two metre distance from others and wear face coverings wherever this is not possible.
Everyone, of course, wants to know when they will receive their vaccination. In Cardiff and the Vale, as with everywhere else in the UK, people are being vaccinated in line with the JCVI guidance. The current order of priority is set out below:

1. residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
2. all those 80 years of age and over 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 clinically extremely vulnerable individuals;
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.

Members of the public in these groups will be contacted, either by their GP, or the Health Board in due course.

I thank you all for your patience and support while we work through one of the biggest vaccination programmes ever undertaken, and as always for your hard work to support our communities. 

Diolch yn fawr,

Rob Thomas.