'No Point' In Using Up Vaccine Supplies In A Week, Wales' First Minister Says

There is “no point” in Wales using up its vaccine supply in the first week and have “all our vaccinators standing around with nothing to do for another month”, Mark Drakeford has said.

Wales has already received 250,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but as of Friday last week had just used 126,375 doses – less than half that amount.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, the first minister said the vaccine has to last until February and is therefore not being used all at once.

“There will be no point, and certainly it will be logistically very damaging to try to use all of that in the first week and then to have all our vaccinators standing around with nothing to do for another month,” he said.

“The sensible thing to do is to use the vaccine you’ve got over the period that you’ve got it for so that your system can absorb it, they can go on working, that you don’t have people standing around with nothing to do.

“We will vaccinate all four priority groups by the middle of February, alongside everywhere else in the UK.”

Responding to Drakeford’s comments, Andrew RT Davies MS for South Wales Central, said: “Astonished to hear this morning Labour’s First Minister Mark Drakeford doubling-down on his decision to delay deployment of Pfizer vaccine supplies.

“Lives and livelihoods across Wales are at stake. Stop the excuses and just make it happen.”

"The thing that limits us at the moment is supply"

Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford says using all Welsh stocks of the Pfizer vaccine in the first week would leave vaccinators "standing about with nothing to do" and that would be pointless #R4Todayhttps://t.co/G5vJKfNNOzpic.twitter.com/6AQMT7KHq2

— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) January 18, 2021

There would be a lot of point - the point being literally saving thousands of lives https://t.co/OxTTNAu1mQ

— Jane Merrick (@janemerrick23) January 18, 2021

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