Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Booster jabs will be offered to all adults in Wales by end of January – minister

Eluned Morgan MS will be holding a press conference to update the country on the booster vaccine rollout.

Bronwen Weatherby
Tuesday 07 December 2021 06:19 EST
A nurse prepares the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen (Jacob King/PA)
A nurse prepares the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen (Jacob King/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Wales’ health minister has said booster vaccinations will be offered to all eligible adults by the end of January.

Eluned Morgan MS confirmed people would still be called in priority order of age and vulnerability.

But she said it is really important people come forward when contacted to “extend their protection”.

NHS Wales is said to be giving more than 19,000 jabs a day after ramping up the booster programme in response to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Four cases of Omicron have so far been reported in the country.

The Welsh Government said it was aiming in the coming weeks to almost double the rate vaccinations are being administered to more than 200,000 a week.

Five million vaccines have so far been administered in Wales.

Health boards are again setting up more vaccination centres, including walk-in and drive-through clinics with longer opening hours.

Local government, fire services and students will then provide support to the clinics, and anyone wishing to volunteer to help the rollout are asked to visit the Government’s website for details on how to sign up.

Meanwhile, the minister said a request for assistance has been sent to the military.

Ms Morgan will hold a press conference on Tuesday with the deputy chief medical officer, Dr Gillian Richardson, about the progress of the Covid-19 vaccine booster rollout.

She said: “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.”

“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,” she added.

“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.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in