Covid in Wales: Minister rejects 'free-for-all' booster walk-in centres

The Welsh health minister has defended her government's performance on booster jabs

Wales' health minister has accused the English NHS of operating a "free-for-all" for boosters by operating walk-in centres.

Eluned Morgan has defended Wales' performance on booster jabs, amid criticism from the Conservatives.

The Tories said "numerous" health boards had not contacted people who are eligible.

But Ms Morgan said the Welsh NHS is working through the categories of people entitled to another jab.

The Welsh Conservatives said walk-in centres should be opened in Wales as a matter of urgency.

Those entitled to a booster are people who had a second dose six months ago and are aged 50 and over, care home staff and residents, and frontline health and social care workers,.

A total of 446,128 booster doses have been given in Wales.

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Tory health spokesman Russell George told the Senedd that he would like to see walk-in centres for boosters adopted "with urgency".

"The guidance in Wales says that you will be contacted by the health board when you are eligible for a booster vaccine, but evidence is showing from different parts of Wales that that is not the case and health boards - not just one, but numerous health boards - are not yet contacting people who are eligible in that regard."

In response, Ms Morgan said people over 50 are in categories "of one to nine", which were being worked through "in a very systematic way so that, obviously, care home residents have been some of the first to have been offered".

"I'm pleased to say that about 68 per cent of care home residents have already had their booster jabs, as have about 54 per cent of care home workers and NHS workers."

"We're not going to be opening it up to a free-for-all in the way that they have in England. We'll be more systematic than that," she adding the NHS was following "the kind of advice that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation gave in the first round".

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