Care home staff are among the first members of the Barry community to have their initial Covid vaccination doses, with GP surgeries expecting to begin inoculations next week.

Residents in Barry care homes are yet to receive their first vaccinations, but mobile teams are scheduled to visit to administer their jabs as soon as next week.

At a press conference yesterday, NHS Wales Chief Executive Andrew Goodall said the approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine had changed everything.

"The availability of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine this week just changes the dynamics of the way in which the system operates," said Dr Goodall.

"It normalises that we can use our normal practitioners in their normal contacts. We'll be doing this, whether that's in a pharmacy in a GP surgery.

"And that's where we will be able to make the most progress in hitting those early cohorts that have been declared by JCVI, including the over 80s at this stage.

"From a planning perspective, we've been operating a week in advance of the availability of supplies, and what we're hoping to do now with greater certainty is we can start being aware of the supplies for the next two, three, four weeks, we will be able to revert more to an appointment-based system that means that we'll be very clearly working our way through some of those categories," he said.

How are vaccines being delivered in Barry?

GP Surgeries

In his regular CEO Connects letter, Cardiff and Vale UHB CEO Len Richards said that three practices are trialling the vaccine "to a handful of patients" this week, with a full roll out expected from next Monday [11 January].

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board says that the majority of GP practices in the county will be offering the vaccine to over 80s from next week.

Patients will be contacted by their GP practice to book their vaccine.

"We are working closely with GP practices in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan to vaccinate people 80 and over," said the health board.

West Quay Medical Centre is ecpecting a delivery of 100 vaccines next week, and a further 100 the following week.

"We are hopeful for larger numbers per week after this," said the centre.

Care homes

Some staff members at Cartref Porthceri care home have already had their first dose of the Covid vaccine, but others had their appointments cancelled when the home was placed on red alert.

Deputy manager Lisa Millard was due to have her first jab but her appointment was cancelled when she tested positive.

"We had ten cases altogether, but none of us showed any symptoms," she said. The care home is now Covid-free, and Lisa says they are "ready to go" with vaccines for residents. "We're expecting it very soon, everything is in place. We'll be instructed by GP surgeries, and it will be arranged through them," said Lisa. "We've had no confirmation from the health board yet on a date, but we've signed the forms for residents who haven't got the capacity. "It'll be a mobile team, that's what happens with the flu jabs. The surgeries usually arrange it and then they come in," she said. A staff member at Bellavista Nursing Home also said a mobile unit will visit the site to deliver Covid vaccines to residents. "We haven't had any information apart from one email saying it will be a mobile unit," she said. "Teams will be coming to the care home to vaccinate the residents. "We've been informed to have everything ready, but we don't know exactly when it will happen."