PEOPLE in Wales who are housebound and are yet to receive their coronavirus vaccine have not been forgotten, health minister Vaughan Gething pledged today

At today's Welsh Government coronavirus briefing, the South Wales Argus raised the issue of 95-year-old Margaret Williams, of Cwmcarn, who is housebound and yet to receive her first dose after being unable to travel to her appointment.

Daughter Susan Thomas-Peter has told the Argus of her concerns that her mother is yet to be protected, and said she is "unaware" of when her mother will be vaccinated, only having heard from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board that it will be soon.

READ MORE:

When asked by the Argus about Mrs Williams and other people in her position, Mr Gething stressed that plans are in place to ensure they will receive their vaccinations, and pledged: "You haven't been forgotten. You're not going to be overlooked."

"I want to reiterate again - the NHS is not going to leave people behind.

"We know that there are a relatively small number of people who are effectively housebound, that's why we do have mobile teams.

"We've got a range of particular teams that are going out to not just care homes, but out to housebound individuals too. Some GPs are also undertaking home visits to deliver the vaccine as well.

"We know that for some people being housebound means they can't get out to a local centre or a mass vaccination centre, that's why we've built in from the start this range of mobile teams that will be going out to deliver the vaccine to people.

"We will make sure that we offer the provision of the protection of vaccines.

"That's going through our first jab of Covid, but also in the way we then deliver the second jab because in the coming weeks we're going to be delivering a significant amount of second doses as well. It’s a programme that is still moving on at real pace and is absolutely not going to leave people behind."

The latest figures from Public Health Wales show that 603,976 people have received their first coronavirus vaccine dose, and 2,792 people have received their second dose.

A little more than 85 per cent of over-80s have had their first vaccine dose, while 76.9 per cent of 75-79 year olds and 54.8 per cent of 70-74 year olds have had their first dose.