Further to the UK Government securing and pre-ordering COVID-19 vaccines, will the Minister confirm how much the Welsh Government will pay for (a) the vaccines (b) storage (c) other associated deployment costs, and will these costs be met from the Welsh Government block grant, or be funded in another way?
Delivering a vaccination programme that protects against COVID-19 is a strategic priority for the Welsh Government and for NHS Wales.
There is no cost to the Welsh Government for the vaccines themselves. Procurement and funding of vaccine candidates has been managed by the UK Government on behalf of the 4 nations of the UK.
The deployment programme in Wales is the Welsh Government’s responsibility to manage and fund. A financial assessment has been developed by NHS Wales covering all aspects of deployment. The Minister for Finance and Trefnydd has agreed up to £27 million from reserves to cover the cost of vaccine deployment in 2020-21.