Armed Forces to help with vaccine roll-out in Wales after military aid request
Members of the Armed Forces will be deployed across Wales to help set up and operate vaccination centres in the community.
90 personnel will be drafted in to support the roll-out after the Welsh Government made a military aid request.
The military aid request runs between 4 January to 28 February 2021 and will see members of the Armed Forces delivering the vaccine, setting up equipment and carrying out a number of other functions.
It's hoped it will create extra capacity as greater quantities of the vaccine are made available.
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart said: “The roll-out of the vaccine is a considerable logistical challenge, so we have approved the deployment of Armed Forces personnel to help with its distribution in Wales.
“The use of the military to help with this vital work shows how we can pull together to meet the needs of the whole of the United Kingdom as we tackle the pandemic.
“With case rates high across many areas of Wales, it is important that we continue to support the Welsh Government. The huge number of vaccines that the UK Government has procured and the assistance of the Armed Forces in distributing them will help turn the tide in this fight.”
The UK was the first country in the world to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine.
The UK Government bought vaccines on behalf of all parts of the UK and distributed them around Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland ahead of last week’s initial rollout.
The army was brought in the help with a mass coronavirus testing programme in Merthyr Tydfil.