Western Mail

‘Moderna jab supply lower than expected’ – minister

- MARK SMITH Health correspond­ent mark.smith@walesonlin­e.co.uk

WALES and the other UK nations are set to receive fewer Moderna coronaviru­s vaccines than originally thought this month, it has been revealed.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething, in a written statement, stated that the Welsh Government is “working through” what this means for the vaccinatio­n rollout in Wales.

It is understood that pharmaceut­ical firm Moderna, based in Boston, USA, has had a shortfall in vaccine production in its European supply chain.

The drug maker said that shipments to the European Union and Switzerlan­d are on track but that it will make “adjustment­s” to expected second quarter delivery supplies in affected nations.

The UK has ordered 17m doses of the Moderna vaccine which has a 94% efficacy rate in trials. It is said to be effective against both the Kent variant and the South Africa variants of coronaviru­s which both spread faster and could be more deadly.

Mr Gething said: “Supply is the limiting factor in our programme. We are aware of an expected reduction to the supply of Moderna vaccine to the UK.

“We are working through what this means for our programme in Wales. We will continue discussion­s with the UK Government with a focus on ensuring we meet the milestones in our national strategy.”

The supply issue comes after the Joint Commission on Vaccinatio­n and Immunisati­on (JCVI) recommende­d the use of the Moderna and Pfizer to pregnant women in the UK where available.

“JCVI have advised that women who are pregnant should be offered vaccinatio­n at the same time as nonpregnan­t women based on their age and clinical risk group,” said Mr Gething.

“There is now extensive post-marketing experience of the use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the USA with no safety signals so far. These vaccines are therefore the preferred vaccines to offer to pregnant women.

“Clinicians should discuss the risks and benefits of vaccinatio­n with the woman who should be told about the limited but emerging evidence regarding safety for vaccinatio­n in pregnancy. Pregnant women who commenced vaccinatio­n with AstraZenec­a are advised to complete their vaccinatio­n course with the same vaccine.”

Meanwhile, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued new advice concluding there is a “possible link” between the AstraZenec­a Covid-19 vaccine and an extremely rare form of blood clots. The risk is of a very specific and very rare type of clot with a low platelet count, known as thrombocyt­openia.

“The benefits of vaccinatio­n continue to outweigh any risks but MHRA advises careful considerat­ion be given to people who are at higher risk of specific types of blood clots because of their medical condition,” Mr Gething added.

“JCVI has also issued advice in relation to AstraZenec­a deployment that we are following. They have advised that:

■ Those aged 18-29 with no underlying conditions should receive an alternativ­e Covid-19 vaccine where an alternativ­e is available;

■ those people who have had a first AstraZenec­a vaccine dose should continue to have the second dose; and

■ informatio­n should be given to individual­s offered vaccinatio­n and

healthcare profession­als should be updated to reflect these considerat­ions.

“We take this advice very seriously and will ensure the updated advice is followed for people’s safety. Those under 30 will be offered an alternativ­e vaccine.

“This is a precaution­ary measure for the majority of the population as the AstraZenec­a vaccine is still considered to be a safe and effective vaccine.”

Data published by Public Health Wales yesterday showed that 1,699,092 first doses and 610,882 second doses of the vaccine have been administer­ed so far in Wales.

Mr Gething added: “We have offered the vaccine to all those in priority groups one to nince. Health boards across Wales are offering the vaccine to those aged 40 and over. Some have already reached the 50% gateway that enables them to offer to the next age group so over-30s are also being called.

“It is testament to the hard work of our NHS and all those working on the vaccinatio­n programme that we are maintainin­g the best first dose vaccinatio­n rate in the UK. A greater proportion of people in Wales have had both doses of the vaccine in Wales than in any other part of the UK. Last week we were ranked third in the world behind only the United Arab Emirates and Israel.”

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 ??  ?? Elle Taylor, 24, an unpaid carer from Ammanford, became the first person in the UK to receive an injection of the Moderna vaccine administer­ed by nurse Laura French, at the West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen earlier this month
Elle Taylor, 24, an unpaid carer from Ammanford, became the first person in the UK to receive an injection of the Moderna vaccine administer­ed by nurse Laura French, at the West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen earlier this month

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