Summary

  • Health Minister Eluned Morgan and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Gill Richardson have given a Welsh government update

  • Ministers will review Covid rules this week, and announce any changes on Friday

  • Ms Morgan says all available NHS staff will be deployed to help the booster vaccination effort

  • Cases of Omicron are present across Wales and growing, Ms Morgan says

  • Everyone needs a booster dose to protect against the Omicron variant, Ms Richardson says

  • Walk-in booster jab slots will be targeted at "particular groups of people” and mass vaccination centres will open longer

  • People who have had both initial vaccine doses should expect a booster invitation within days

  • Further restrictions over Christmas not ruled out and NHS staff are asked to cancel leave

  • "Huge amount" being asked of NHS staff, Ms Morgan acknowledges

  • The Welsh Conservatives say there is not enough evidence about Omicron to justify further Covid restrictions

  • Plaid Cymru say there is frustration from many who people were unsure about how to get a booster jab

Live Reporting

Nicholas Bourne and Caleb Spencer

  1. How many people have had their booster jab?

    There are a lot of people awaiting a booster now because the eligibility criteria has dropped from six to three months after a second dose.

    Before that, the programme had reached 80% of those eligible, but that has now dropped to 51%, figures show.

    If the aim is to give a booster to all those eligible by the end of December, then it would taken more than 61,000 jabs a day – more than three times the current daily average.

    If the aim is to give everyone a booster by the end of January, then that could be done with an average of 23,000 boosters a day.

    The number eligible only rises by a total of 20,200 over January.

    In March, 38,000-40,000 vaccines were given out a day at the peak.

  2. Will there be restrictions before Christmas?

    The first minister has said he was "not prepared" to rule out further restriction ahead of Christmas.

    In an interview with ITV Wales' Sharp End on Monday evening, he said: "We looked at this last week and came to the conclusion on Friday that there was no need to move in that direction for this week because in Wales, where we are behind what's happening in other parts of the UK, we think the Delta variant will continue to be the dominant for this week.

    "By this coming Friday, things may be different and if it is necessary to take actions to protect people's health in Wales, then difficult as it is and as unwelcome as it will be to us all, the Welsh government will protect people's health and keep people alive.

    "If we didn't take action people would die. We will not shrink from that responsibility".

    The Welsh government is set to announce any further restrictions at its next on Friday.

    Christmas market scenebb

    Mark Drakeford: "If we didn't take action people would die"

  3. Hello and welcome

    More details on the rollout of the Covid vaccination booster programme in Wales are expected to be outlined shortly.

    The daily booster vaccination programme needs to triple its rate to 60,000 doses to tackle the Omicron variant, according to the first minister.

    Mark Drakeford has not ruled out more restrictions before Christmas, and has suggested tighter rules may be needed between Christmas and New Year.

    The number of Omicron cases in Wales stands at 30, with one patient admitted to an un-named Welsh hospital.

    Health Minister Eluned Morgan and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Gill Richardson are leading today's briefing.