THE first coronavirus vaccinations in Wales will be given from next Tuesday.

First Minister Mark Drakeford - speaking at the Welsh Government's coronavirus briefing - said: "We expect to receive the first supplies of coronavirus vaccine in Wales in the next couple of days.

"Trained staff are ready to give doses of the vaccine.

"We are planning to begin vaccinating people from Tuesday of next week.

"We hope this marks a turning point in the pandemic and puts us on what is going to be a long path back to normality."

The vaccine will ne that developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, which was approved by UK medicines regulators on Wednesday. Supplies have already begun to arrive in the UK.

Frontline NHS and social care staff, and the over-80s are at the top of the list for the vaccine, with care home residents also among the top priorities.

READ MORE:

The issue of how the vaccine will be provided to the latter group however, is a "work in progress" according to Wales' Chief Medical Officer Dr Frank Atherton, given the need to store the vaccine at extremely low temperatures, and the vulnerability of care home residents means they will not be able to travel to get it.

Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government will take a precautionary approach to lifting coronavirus restrictions until a sufficient number of people have been vaccinated.

"Even with the vaccines that are coming our way fastest, you have to have two doses of them three weeks apart, and they are not effective until after the second dose," he said.

"So even those people who will be vaccinated in Wales in December will not see the benefit of that vaccine until into the New Year."