COVID-19 vaccination programme (stock and distribution): as at 31 October 2021

This weekly statistical release includes management information on the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to Wales and local health boards.

We’re publishing this to support the commitment to keep individuals up to date about the vaccination roll out, as set out in the Vaccination Strategy for Wales.

This release does not include statistics on people vaccinated. Data on vaccinations given are published daily and weekly, on the Public Health Wales Rapid COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, with the weekly data providing more detailed breakdowns.

There are currently three types of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine being supplied and administered in Wales (Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna). The first dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020, the first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca on 4 January 2021, and the first dose of Moderna on 7 April 2021.

All data on vaccines allocated and delivered to Wales are approved by the UK Government.

The data is available on StatsWales.

• 6,208,730 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated to Wales.
• 5,073,280 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to Wales.
• 1.6% of vaccine doses were reported as not suitable for use. Split by vaccine type: 1.1% of Pfizer BioNTech, 2.0% of Oxford/AstraZeneca, and 2.5% of Moderna vaccine doses were reported as not suitable for use.

The total number of doses allocated refers to the number of doses that, in the case of the Oxford / AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines have been made available by Public Health England to the Welsh Government for ordering (up to 11:55 on 1 November 2021) or, in the case of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, delivered directly from the manufacturer to Wales (up to the end of 1 November 2021).

The total number of doses delivered refers to the number of doses that have either been delivered from Public Health England’s distributor to the NHS in Wales or, in the case of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, delivered from the Welsh Government’s distributor to the NHS in Wales, and is the cumulative amount delivered by 23:59 on 31 October 2021.

The difference between vaccine allocated to Wales and vaccine delivered in Wales is made up of vaccines allocated but not yet delivered.

Number of doses includes Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna doses.

Figures on doses allocated and delivered refer to one dose of vaccine. A course of vaccination is made up of a number of doses and will differ between individuals, please see the quality and methodology information section for more information.

The data on vaccination allocation and delivery is drawn from information provided by Public Health England (PHE) and the Welsh Government. The data is collected from management information generated during the operation of the Vaccine Deployment Programme and collated centrally by Public Health England and, for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, by the Welsh Government.

The data is management information which is used to support COVID-19 vaccination operations. The data have not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics, and are subject to future revisions. We are publishing these data to provide a weekly summary of vaccination operations in Wales.

Vaccines unsuitable for use include doses that fail quality assurance on initial inspection, doses that fail quality assurance following preparation and vials/doses which expire during the vaccination session.

Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) data from the Welsh Immunisation System (WIS) is used for vaccine doses not suitable for use. There may be additional unusable doses that have not been recorded.

The UK Government hold the contracts for vaccine volumes and deliveries to the whole of the UK. Wales receives a population share of all vaccines procured by the UK Government. Vaccines are allocated to health boards on the basis of the UK’s Independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority groups’ population sizes following allocations given to Public Health Wales (PHW) and Velindre University NHS Trust. PHW and Velindre receive an allocation relative to the number of employees classified as frontline healthcare workers in accordance with JCVI criteria. Velindre receive an allocation for vaccinating employees of the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust and individuals under the care of Velindre Cancer Centre who are also in JCVI priority groups.

Pfizer BioNTech vaccines are delivered directly to Wales by the manufacturer. The Welsh Government’s distributor delivers the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to mass vaccination centres, hospitals and GP practices. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is delivered by Public Health England’s distributor directly to hospitals and GP practices and other primary health care settings. The Moderna vaccine is delivered by Public Health England’s distributor to the Welsh Government’s distributor who then delivers it to mass vaccination centres, hospitals, GP practices and other primary health care settings.

Context

The data used in this release is management information which is used to support COVID-19 vaccination operations. We are publishing these data to provide a timely summary of vaccination operational activity. The data have not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics, and are subject to future revisions.

This information helps to monitor the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

Relevance

Daily data on the number of people who have received vaccinations is published on the Public Health Wales (PHW) Rapid COVID-19 Surveillance dashboard. The daily release shows the cumulative number of vaccinations administered – for first dose, second dose, three dose primary course in the severely immunosuppressed, and booster doses. The daily figures give a timely update on the roll out of the vaccination programme, although the actual number of people vaccinated will be higher due to ongoing data entry. PHW also publish weekly, more detailed data on vaccinations through the dashboard.

Information for the public about the vaccination is available on the PHW website.

Accuracy

A digital infrastructure for scheduling appointments, recording, and reporting on vaccination activity was developed by the Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) to meet the needs of the vaccination programme called the Welsh Immunisation System (WIS). Data on vaccine doses not suitable use is extracted from WIS and reflects the position as at 5pm on the Sunday of each week.  

Some vaccination data may be recorded on paper records, which may still need to be entered at the time of data extraction and reporting. Actual numbers may vary and will be revised in future releases as more information is recorded.

Vaccine data provided by the distributor are undergoing quality assurance and as such are subject to future revision.

In this release vaccine figures are reported in terms of doses.

Prior to 26 January 2021 the product information for the Pfizer vaccine stated that each vial contains 5 doses; however in some cases it may be possible to withdraw a further sixth dose from some vials. The use of this additional dose is supported by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). From 26 January 2021, the MHRA updated their regulations to state that Pfizer vials officially contain 6 doses. The number of doses of Pfizer vaccine has been calculated on the basis of the date on which vaccine was received in Wales.

The product information for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine states that vials contain 8 or 10 doses (depending on the presentation), however in some cases it may be possible to withdraw a further (9^th or 11^th) dose from some vials. The use of this additional dose is supported by the MHRA.

There are two different presentations of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine provided:

• 80 dose packs (Ten 4 ml vials with at least 8 doses per vial)
• 100 dose packs (Ten 5 ml vials with at least 10 doses per vial)

The product information for the Moderna vaccine states that 10 doses can be withdrawn from each vial; however an additional overfill is included in each vial to ensure that 10 doses of 0.5 mL can be delivered. In some cases it may be possible to withdraw further doses from some vials. The use of this additional dose is supported by the MHRA.

Figures on doses allocated and delivered refer to one dose of vaccine. A course of vaccination is made up of a number of doses and will differ between individuals. Individuals who are severely immunosuppressed were recommended three doses from the beginning of the vaccination programme and the rest of the eligible population were recommended two doses initially, with the booster programme beginning in autumn 2021.

The percentage of doses unsuitable for use is calculated using the total doses unsuitable for use and dividing this by the total doses administered and the total doses unsuitable for use. From 24 October 2021, the cumulative number of doses administered includes three dose primary courses and booster doses. At the time of implementation, Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna doses have been used in small quantities for three dose primary courses and booster doses and so this change has had little impact on the percentage reported as not suitable for use. However, the percentage of Pfizer BioNTech doses reported as not suitable for use has seen a slight decrease.

During the week to 5 September 2021, there was an increase in the percentage of vaccine doses reported as not suitable for use in Wales. This was mainly driven by AstraZeneca vaccine batches reaching expiry dates during August 2021, accounting for approximately 40,000 doses.

As of 4 October 2021, the number of vaccines allocated to Wales includes previously deferred stock for the COVID-19 booster programme which began in autumn 2021.

Timeliness and punctuality

The data in this release is from 8 December 2020 onwards.

Accessibility and clarity

This statistical release has been pre-announced and then published on the Statistics and Research section of our website. It is accompanied by StatsWales tables to allow users to have direct access to the data.

Comparability

Public Health Wales produce a daily surveillance dashboard where users can access the most up to date information on the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered.

England and Northern Ireland do not currently publish data on vaccination stock and supply. Scotland include the data in their Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland publication. 

Data for COVID-19 vaccine doses administered for England is published on the COVID-19 Vaccinations pages of the NHS England website, and within the GOV.UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard.

Data for COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Scotland is published as daily data within the Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland publication by Scottish Government, on the COVID-19 vaccination dashboard published by Public Health Scotland, and within the GOV.UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard.

Data for COVID-19 vaccine doses administered for Northern Ireland is published on the Health & Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI) vaccinations dashboard and within the GOV.UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard.

National Statistics status

These statistics are not National Statistics. However, as far as has been practicable, they have been collected and validated in accordance with the pillars and principles within the Code of Practice for Statistics. We continue to develop the data collection and quality assurance process to improve the data.

These statistics have been produced quickly in response to developing world events.

Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)

The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. The 46 national indicators were laid in March 2016.

Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the well-being goals and associated technical information is available in the Well-being of Wales report.

Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.

Next update

The next release will be published on Wednesday 10 November 2021.

We are considering reducing the frequency of some of the COVID-19 related statistical releases, including this publication. We welcome any comments or feedback on how you use these releases, and any changes to them via kas.covid19@gov.wales.

For queries about the data
Statistician: Alexandra Fitzpatrick
Telephone: 0300 025 9016
Email: kas.covid19@gov.wales

Media: 0300 025 8099

SFR 344/2021