CURRENT OUTLOOK
 

• In Carmarthenshire there were 36 cases per 100,000 people with a positivity test rate of 4.1%
• In Pembrokeshire there were 12.7 cases per 100,000 people and a 1.6% positivity rate.
• In the Health Board area as a whole there are 23.5 cases per 100,000 people and a 2.9% positivity rate.

This week there were 32 people in our hospitals with confirmed Covid - and 11 suspected cases.

There was no one in ICU with Covid/suspected Covid and there are no active outbreaks at any hospitals.

So far there has been no impact from primary schools reopening two weeks ago, but it maybe a bit early to tell.

Interestingly, all the staff and patients who tested positive during the Withybush outbreak on Wards 11 and 12 had already been vaccinated and none of them became ill.

VACCINATIONS

97.4% of the Health Board’s frontline staff have had 1st dose and 71.2% have had 2nd dose.

35.5% of the Health Board’s population has had a first dose (2nd highest rates in Wales).

They are now giving the Pfizer 2nd dose after 5 weeks and that will be coming down to 4 weeks.

About half of those aged 75-79 have already had their 2nd dose of Pfizer and most will get it within five weeks of first dose.

The 80+ cohort will be getting their 2nd dose of Oxford/AstraZenica from 22 March (the AZ vaccine has a 12-week gap between doses)

Groups 1-9 (over 50s, clinically vulnerable and the at risk) account for 59.4% of the entire population of Hywel Dda and these 9 groups represent 99% of preventable deaths from Covid.

The Health Board has sent out 10,000 letters this week and another 11,000 will go out next week with invites for Group 7 (60 years plus).

A centrally written letter has also gone out regarding the 2nd dose of Pfizer - as a result of this the call volume to the call centre has gone from 100 per day to 1,000 per day.

Last week the Health Board was given 30,000 first Oxford/Astra Zenica doses which have to be used by end of March. GPs are confident they can use their allotted 20,000 to finish Group 5 (65 years +) and are hopeful they can get through Group 6 (those 'at risk') earlier than originally thought.

3,000 doses are being kept by the Health Board to administer to hospital in-patients.

The vaccination team is 100% confident it will complete Groups 1- 9 by mid April.

WAITING LISTS

A letter will be going out in the next few days to everyone on the waiting list for operations. It will contain apologies for delays and ask how the patient is, along with signposting to information on the restarting of the service they are waiting for. It will also contain a prepaid envelope for replies.

The Health Board will be doing a survey of staff and patients later this year, to find out what changes have worked and which have caused problems.

Read Issue 9 of the Hywel Dda vaccine bulletin.