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Covid-19 vaccine programme update Monday 20 December 2021

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ANYONE who has received a scheduled appointment for their vaccination is strongly urged to do their best to keep it, whether offered in a Mass Vaccination Centre (MVC), a GP surgery, or local community pharmacy. That is the advice today from the local health board.

However, if you haven’t yet received an appointment, Hywel Dda University Health Board now invites anyone over the age of 35 years, plus those in a higher priority group, to drop-in to a Mass Vaccination Centre (MVC) for their vaccination.

This will help to meet the ambitious aim of offering all eligible adults a booster by 31 December and maximise the number of vaccinations available.

The health board’s focus has been ensuring people continue to be given an appointment in priority order based on age and vulnerability. We will do this in the following ways:

Selected GP practices and community pharmacies
We are working with GP practices, to bring on board any that are able to deliver more booster vaccines locally. This has to be carefully balanced against the practice’s ability to maintain the delivery of core services.

We also have a number of community pharmacies who have committed to participating in the programme and they will locally publicise the times of their clinics for booster delivery.

Please do not call your GP surgery or community pharmacy to ask about the COVID-19 vaccine. If your GP practice is participating in the booster programme they will contact you directly and offer you an appointment, please accept it if they do.

Additional support for housebound and care home residents

Housebound patients will be supported by local GP practices, where their staffing allows, whilst in other areas our community vaccination team will arrange to visit and offer vaccination. If you have already contacted the health board with your details you do not need to contact us again as we are working through the lists with our GP teams.

Care homes are being contacted urgently to ensure all residents are offered a booster and will be supported by GP practices and our community vaccination team.  If the care home has already contacted us with these details they do not need to contact us again as we are working through these lists with our GP teams.

Increasing scheduled appointments
Scheduled appointments will continue to be issued at an increased pace. This may be by letter and/or a text message. We are aiming to contact everyone eligible for a booster by Friday 31 December with an offer. Due to the current time of year and challenges with appointments reaching people, we are offering drop-ins phased by age prioritisation.

We understand people have had difficulty in contacting us by phone or email to cancel or rearrange their appointment. In response, the health board has increased the number of call and email handlers.  We will continue to support people to attend for a vaccination at a time and day which suits them but in order to ensure we are reaching everyone with their offer by the 31st December, re-arranged appointments will be made into the first few weeks of January.

We ask people to do everything possible to attend the appointment they are given, this will help the programme greatly, but we hope this extra resource will help should you need it.

Drop In Clinics

If you have been given a scheduled appointment, please keep it.

To ensure we can extend the offer of an invite out at pace and that no one is left behind, booster drop-in clinics are reinstated at six of our mass vaccination centres, strictly for the following groups (*see bottom of update for participating MVCs and opening times):

  • Everyone aged 35 and over who received their second or third dose at least 13 weeks ago
     
  • Anyone aged 16 and over who received their second or third dose at least 13 weeks ago who either a) works in a care home b) is a frontline health or social care worker c) is an unpaid carer d) lives with someone who is immunosuppressed or e) is considered at risk of COVID-19 infection (priority groups 4 and 6)

The groups eligible to drop-in for boosters will be expanded as soon as possible, please look out for announcements on the Hywel Dda UHB website, social media accounts or in local media. Your understanding is appreciated as we try to ensure our older and clinically vulnerable population are prioritised initially.

First doses will be available at all mass vaccination centres except Cwm Cou for drop-ins for:

  • anyone aged 12 and over (over 16s only at drive-through at the Showground).

Second doses will be available at all mass vaccination centres except Cwm Cou for drop-ins for:

  • Anyone aged 16 and over if it has been at least 8 weeks since their first dose.
  • Those aged 12 to 15 are asked to wait for an appointment or drop-in if it has been more than 12 weeks since the first dose was received (over 16s only at drive-through at the Showground).

People who choose to drop-in are advised that booked appointments will be given priority and they should be prepared to potentially experience long waits, possibly outdoors, or be turned away if there are health and safety concerns at the centre. Verbal abuse or aggression towards any centre staff or volunteers will not be tolerated.

Those with booked appointments are asked to arrive no more than 10 minutes before their appointment time and make themselves known on arrival to a volunteer or member of staff.

Please do not attend if you are feeling unwell or if you have had a COVID-19 positive test in the last 28 days. Under 18s are currently advised to wait 12 weeks from a COVID-19 positive test before having any COVID-19 dose.

*Drop-in opening times for all first and second doses, and those in priority groups 1 to 9 for boosters

Most participating mass vaccination centres will make every effort to accommodate eligible drop-ins between 11am and 8pm. Tenby MVC will accept drop-ins between 10am and 6pm on the set days it is open. Drop-ins at the drive-through showground in Carmarthenshire will be between 11am and 8pm. Please note Cwm Cou MVC, is doing scheduled appointments only due to social distancing and traffic management safety issues. Please do not arrive early for drop-in sessions.

The MVCs open seven days a week for drop-ins for eligible groups are:

  • Aberystwyth – Thomas Parry Library, Llanbadarn Campus, Aberystwyth University, SY23 3AS (closed 24, 25, 26 December and 1 January. Open until 4pm on Monday 27 December)
  • Carmarthen (walk-in) – Y Gamfa Wen, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, SA31 3EP (closed 24, 25, 26 December, closing 31 December at 2.30pm and closed 1 January)
  • Carmarthen (drive through – over 16s only) – United Counties Showground, SA33 5DR (closed 24, 25, 26, 27, 31 December and 1 January)
  • Haverfordwest – Pembrokeshire Archives, Prendergast, SA61 2PE (closed 24, 25, 26 December and 1 January. Closes 2.30pm on 27, 30 and 31 December)
  • Llanelli – Unit 2a, Dafen Industrial Estate, Heol Cropin, SA14 8QW (closes at 5pm on 18 December and at 4.30pm on Monday 27 and Thursday 30 December. Closed 24, 25, 26 and 31 December and 1 January)

Tenby MVC (Tenby Leisure Centre, Marsh Road, SA70 8EJ) will be open for drop-ins between 10am and 6pm on the following days in December:

  • Friday 17 to Sunday 19 December; Tuesday 21 to Thursday 23 December; and on Tuesday 28 to Thursday 30 December.
  • Closed on the weekends of 24 to 26 December and 31 December to 2 January.

Cwm Cou MVC (Ysgol Trewen, Cwm-Cou, SA38 9PE) is offering scheduled appointments only, due to social distancing and traffic management safety issues.

For people living in areas where they are not near a drop-in or if they can’t drop-in for health and mobility reasons, we ask them to contact Covid Enquiries by calling 0300 303 8322 or emailing [email protected]

Please visit https://hduhb.nhs.wales/covid19-vaccination to keep up-to-date with this ambitious acceleration of the COVID-19 booster campaign in Hywel Dda.

Business

Thousands of homes in rural Wales gain from faster 4G boost

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RURAL Wales is seeing a major upgrade in mobile connectivity, with faster 4G now live in several areas. Seven locations across North, South West, and West Wales are benefitting from new 4G mast upgrades funded by the UK Government’s Shared Rural Network (SRN), aimed at closing the digital gap between rural and urban areas.

The upgrades, which went live on Thursday (Nov 14), bring improved 4G coverage to communities including Bontddu, Llanelltyd, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Penmaenpool, Tabor, Snowdonia National Park, and Bontgoch. Local businesses, emergency services, and residents are expected to benefit from faster internet access, which supports daily communication, business opportunities, and economic growth.

There is a £170 million agreement with Openreach to provide gigabit-capable broadband to 70,000 remote Welsh properties

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Fast, reliable connectivity is essential for modern life and should be available from Cardiff to the remotest parts of Wales. Today’s upgrades bring us closer to making this a reality.”

SUPPORTING DIGITAL INCLUSION

As part of the rollout, Peter Kyle and Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant visited Ebbw Vale to discuss digital inclusion with charity and industry leaders. They met with representatives at BGfm, a digital inclusion hub in Blaenau Gwent, to learn about how connectivity impacts daily life in Welsh communities.

Telecoms Minister Bryant said: “We are working tirelessly to make sure rural communities aren’t left behind online.

“These upgrades mean businesses can now operate without connectivity limitations, 999 services are better equipped to respond, and residents and tourists can stay connected across the Welsh countryside.”

ADDRESSING CONNECTIVITY GAPS

An estimated 1.5 million homes across the UK remain without internet access, limiting people’s ability to access essential services such as banking and healthcare. In addition to the SRN upgrades, the Chancellor has allocated over £500 million in next year’s budget for digital infrastructure expansion, targeting these underserved areas.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens highlighted the importance of this investment, particularly for rural Wales, where fast, reliable internet can be transformative.

“Connectivity is critical for day-to-day life in rural areas – from supporting local businesses to ensuring emergency services are just a call away,” Stevens said.

The upgraded masts, previously limited to EE customers and emergency 999 calls, now serve a wider user base, bringing essential internet access to more people without requiring new infrastructure.

Ben Roome, CEO of Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, said: “With the activation of five new SRN sites, Wales is seeing the tangible benefits of the Shared Rural Network, bringing crucial connectivity to rural communities.”

GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT IN REMOTE WALES

The improvements come alongside a £170 million agreement with Openreach to provide gigabit-capable broadband to 70,000 remote Welsh properties, helping future-proof digital access in even the most isolated locations.

The latest upgrades mark another step in the Government’s mission to improve mobile coverage and close the connectivity gap across Wales, creating opportunities and supporting economic growth across rural communities.

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Milford Haven man admits to downloading indecent images of children

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A MILFORD HAVEN man has been sentenced after admitting to downloading over 1,000 indecent images and videos of children, including highly explicit content involving young children. Gareth MacDonald, now 23, appeared before Swansea Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images and videos across various devices.

The court heard that police visited MacDonald’s home, which was the scene of protests after his arrest, last year following intelligence suggesting that child abuse images had been accessed there.

There were protests outside MacDonald’s house in September 2024 (Pic: Herald)

Officers spoke with MacDonald’s mother at the door before entering to conduct a search.

During the operation, two mobile phones, a tablet, a laptop, and two hard drives were seized.

MacDonald initially spoke to one of the officers privately, admitting to downloading the images and saying, “It’s me.” Later, in formal interviews, he revealed that he had grown “bored with legal pornography” roughly a year earlier, knowing that what he was doing was illegal but continuing regardless.

Prosecutor Emily Bennett informed the court that MacDonald’s devices held 15 Category A images, the most severe classification, 26 Category B images, and 960 Category C images. Some content depicted children as young as nine, and the most serious material involved pre-teen children in distressing situations.

Bennett also noted that MacDonald had briefly joined an online group where members self-identified as paedophiles, although he left without sharing any material. Cleaning software was also found on his devices.

Defense counsel Dan Griffiths acknowledged that MacDonald’s actions had crossed the custodial threshold, but argued that there was “a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.” He highlighted MacDonald’s cooperation with police and his willingness to comply with rehabilitation programmes.

Judge Geraint Walters, presiding over the sentencing, addressed MacDonald, saying, “For some considerable time, you have accessed this kind of imagery, fully aware of the harm it represents.” He acknowledged that MacDonald largely isolated himself and stayed at home, factors he considered in the sentencing.

MacDonald was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, with a requirement to complete 20 rehabilitation activity days and participate in the Horizon programme. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and is subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same duration.

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Welsh teenager jailed for creating 3D-printed gun at home

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A TEENAGER who assembled parts for a viable semi-automatic firearm using a 3D printer has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.

Owain Roberts, 19, purchased nuts, bolts, steel barrels, and metal rods online, constructing components of an FGC-9 gun with the aid of a 3D printer.

Detectives said that this case marks the first of its kind in Gwent, where Roberts admitted to manufacturing a firearm component. He appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday (Nov 14).

In April, firearms officers executed warrants at two Newport addresses connected to Roberts. Seized items included a 3D printer, two laptops, six plastic reels, and parts for an FGC-9 firearm.

PC Tom Meazey, from Gwent Police’s East Serious Organised Crime team, stated: “Illegally-held firearms can lead to tragic consequences and devastate innocent people’s lives. To own a firearm, including a printable one, is illegal in the UK without a valid firearms certificate. Roberts’s reckless actions in buying items capable of manufacturing a firearm placed people at direct risk.”

This rare and complex investigation involved support from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Roberts received a prison sentence of four years and nine months.

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