3 March 2021 - Hywel Dda Vaccine Bulletin - Issue 8

Welcome to the eighth edition of Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Vaccine Bulletin.

This weekly update will provide the latest information regarding the progress of the COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Programme across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

This week 8,455 first doses have been delivered and 4,414 second doses have been completed. Over the weekend, the national programme delivered the 1 millionth dose, a phenomenal achievement only 11 weeks from the first dose being delivered in Wales.

Across our three counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire we have now delivered a first dose to 31.3% of our population and 2.3% have received both doses of the vaccine.

The health board has also confirmed where and when people in priority groups 5 to 9 will receive the vaccine.

Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire residents in priority groups 5 to 9 can expect to receive their vaccine as follows:

Group 5, people aged 65 - 69 years - delivered by GP practices between 15 February and 12 March
Group 6, people aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions and unpaid carers - delivered by GP practices between 22 February and 4 April
Group 7, people aged 60 - 64 years - delivered by mass vaccination centres starting 8 March
Group 8, people aged 55 - 59 years - delivered by mass vaccination centres starting 22 March
Group 9, people aged 50 - 54 years - delivered by mass vaccination centres starting 5 April

The health board currently has mass vaccination centres located in Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Haverfordwest, Tenby, Carmarthen and Llanelli.

Please do not contact your GP or health board to ask when you will receive a vaccine. You will be contacted directly when it is your turn. Thank you.

Unpaid carers

Here in Hywel Dda UHB, thanks to our long running Investors in Carers scheme, we have over 10,000 people across our three counties registered as an unpaid carer. If you are registered and meet the criteria set out below, you will be contacted by your GP to receive a vaccine and we kindly ask that you do not contact your GP at this time.

There are many different caring situations. A carer could be someone looking after a child with a disability or caring for an elderly parent, someone supporting a partner with a substance misuse or mental health problem. Despite these differing caring roles, all carers share some basic needs. They also need services to recognise the person and changing needs throughout their caring journey.

The Welsh Government has been working with care organisations and health board vaccine teams to develop an online form for people who aren't already registered as an unpaid carer (with GP or local authority) to be identified. The form will be available here from our website from Monday 8 March (opens in new tab).

Carers are the largest source of care and support and it is in everyone’s interest that they are supported. There are three important factors to consider and to be prioritised for vaccination, an unpaid carer should satisfy all three factors:

The vulnerability of the person being cared for:
- is 65 years old and over (group 5)
- is deemed extremely clinically vulnerable (group 4)
- has a defined underlying health condition including mental illness (qualifying as group 6)
- is a child under 16 with complex medical needs/ severe neuro-disabilities
  - The nature of the care provided to those 16 and over: includes, but is not restricted to, helping with eating, bathing, shaving, managing continence, dressing and walking. It may include intervening in challenging or risky behaviour. It may include providing significant levels of support and supervision at home or in the community and where social distancing is not possible
The nature of the care provided to children under 16 with complex medical needs/ severe neuro-disabilities:
- is beyond the care and support parents ordinarily provide for a child. It is likely to include tasks like tracheostomy tube care, airway suction, repositioning to manage pressure areas and care interventions such as respiratory physiotherapy. It may include intensive personal care such as daily washing and continence care and /or managing behaviours that challenge.
The unpaid carer is the sole or primary carer:
- we recognise that caring for some people may require two people to assist with such tasks as positioning, hoisting, bathing and changing. There may be arrangements whereby two people evenly divide the caring responsibilities. In such instances, both unpaid carers may be considered as the primary carers

Young carers under 16 will not be offered the vaccination. No children under 16 are being vaccinated, unless in exceptional circumstances due to severe-neuro disabilities.

In preparation for a potential increase in the numbers of people identifying themselves as unpaid carers in our community, the health board is looking at the potential of commissioning additional capacity for our third sector providers so that they can offer information and advice to newly identified carers.

For more information please visit:

Priority group 6 eligibility

For more information about clinical risk groups 16 years of age and over who should receive COVID-19 immunisation as part of priority group 6, click here to see table 3 (opens in new tab).


Priority Group	First dose vaccine numbers	First dose percentage uptake	Second dose vaccine numbers	Second dose percentage uptake
P1.1 Older adult resident in a care home	2,489	96.4%	40	1.5%
P1.2 - Care home worker	3,137	89.8%	1,218	34.9%
P2.1 - All those 80 years of age and over	22,463	98.9%	16	0.1%
P2.2 & 2.3 - Health and social care workers	21,561	94.5%	7,072	31%
P3 - all those 75 years of age and over	18,019	92.3%	<10	0%
P4.1 - all those 70 years of age and over	24,252	92.2%	<10	0%
P4.2 - clinically extremely vulnerable individuals	8,040	81.2%	<10	0%
P5 – all those 65 years of age and over	16,161	67.7%	<10	0%
P6 - all individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality (at risk groups) and unpaid carers	2,461	5.5%	<10	0%
Other priority groups or unallocated	1,562	1%	388	0.2%
Total:	121,278	31.3%	8,865	2.3%

Hywel Dda UHB renal dialysis patients among first in UK to receive a COVID-19 vaccine

Dialysis patients attending Bronglais, Glangwili and Withybush hospitals are among the first in-centre dialysis patients to receive their COVID-19 vaccine in the UK.

Since the start of the pandemic, people receiving renal dialysis treatment have lived in fear of COVID-19. Patients with kidney failure are considered extremely vulnerable to the virus, but they are unable to shield because must attend a dialysis unit regularly for life-saving treatment.

Furthermore, a high proportion are dependent on hospital transport, which also affects their ability to shield, and would have had trouble accessing community vaccination appointments because of their treatment schedules.

However, dialysis patients across South West Wales have now received their first dose in record time due to a delivery programme designed to vaccinate while attending regular dialysis sessions.

Speaking about their experience through the pandemic, one patient said, “We have lived in fear because people on dialysis who catch COVID are far more likely to become very unwell or die.”

Professor Chris Brown, Consultant Renal Pharmacist, said: “Data shows these patients have a much higher risk of death from Covid-19 than the general population.

“Treatment for this group of patients has not stopped during the pandemic with over 1,200 dialysis treatments a week being provided by our regional service in Hywel Dda and Swansea Bay university health boards.

“Once we were given the go ahead for urgent roll-out by the Hywel Dda vaccination team, we mobilised a team from the renal units to administer the vaccine to patients while they underwent their dialysis treatment.

“Renal pharmacists buddied with a specialist nurse at each of the region’s dialysis centres.

Chris said “Over 99% of patients consented to the vaccine which is extremely high and much higher than may have been expected.

“I believe this is due to the fact that the vaccine was being given by the staff who care for these people week in, week out and who understand their complex care needs.

“The delivery of the vaccine program was extremely effective. The team worked to get the first dose into people over a matter of days and not a single dose of the vaccine was wasted.”

Read the full press release here (opens in new tab)

Please don’t contact your GP, pharmacy or health board to ask when you will receive the vaccine
This week, health services have been inundated with calls, emails and social media messages from the public enquiring about the vaccine. We understand people are anxious and want to know when they can have the vaccine. Please do not contact your GP, pharmacy or health board; you will be contacted when it is your turn. People will be invited to receive the vaccine in order of priority, so please be patient.