Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 December 2020
On the latter question, once we have worked our way through the JCVI list—our objective is to do that in the spring of next year—we will then move to those who are under 50. At that point, we expect that, over time, the JCVI will give us further advice about any prioritisation that we will follow for that final group of the adult population. We will be able to answer that part of Mr Cole-Hamilton’s question more definitively at that point. We will, of course, look to ensure that, as we roll out the vaccination, we follow the advice in an equitable manner.
On missed appointments and vaccines being wasted, I encourage everyone not to miss their appointment. If they cannot make it for some reason, they should get in touch, using the information that they will have been given, and rearrange it. We are happy to rearrange appointments, but missed appointments simply mean that somebody else who could have been vaccinated on that day at that time will not be.
However, missed appointments do not necessarily increase wastage, because each vial is made up with sodium chloride into five doses, and those doses can be kept for a limited amount of time in normal refrigerated conditions at 2°C to 8°C. If, say, I do not turn up and Mr Cole-Hamilton is next in line, the dose that I was going to receive will simply be used for him, and on we go. By the way, when my time comes, I will turn up—both times.
Essentially, X number of missed appointments does not necessarily equate to X number of wasted dosages. However, there is always a risk that, if the person who misses their appointment had the last appointment of the day, there will be no one else to receive that dose, and that will be a wasted dose. The more we can minimise wastage, the more people we can vaccinate quicker.