Diolch yn fawr iawn to all those keeping us safe this Christmas
Ahead of what is likely to be a very challenging period Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan councils and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board are issuing a heartfelt thank you message to all those staff and volunteers who will be keeping us safe this Christmas.
Public services in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan are under levels of pressure never seen before. Despite everything the past 21 months has thrown at them, our hard-working staff are still on the frontline of the Covid response.
08 December 2022 marked a year since we began administering the first COVID-19 vaccinations here in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. The mass vaccination programme has been a feat of partnership working that has seen the delivery of over 930,000 vaccines, including over 170,000 boosters. This huge achievement is a testament to the resilience and dedication that staff, public services and volunteers have continued to show, which has been critical in helping rapidly protect our population against COVID-19.
We are now at another crucial stage in the vaccination programme, with the rollout of booster jabs accelerated in a much quicker timescale than ever imagined. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, with the support of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan councils, will offer all eligible adults aged 18 and over an appointment for their booster vaccination by the end of December 2021. To achieve this the help and support of our communities will be vital, and we continue to be extremely grateful for the efforts of the staff and volunteers across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan’s vaccination sites.
Away from the vaccination centres, on Christmas Day, as on all other 364 days of the year, health and social care staff will be working in our hospitals, residential care homes, and making home visits to give our citizens the essential care they need.
Working alongside colleagues from Public Health Wales in the regional Test, Trace, Protect service, our teams will not stop tracing cases of the new variant and providing advice and support to those who test positive. Their work is made possible by staff at our testing sites and at labs across the country who are taking and processing thousands of samples every week.
Recognition must also go to teachers and those working in our schools. At the end of perhaps the most difficult school term yet, our staff are now planning again for new ways in which to keep pupils learning while keeping them, their families, and colleagues safe.
To everyone working to keep us safe this Christmas, and to everyone playing their part to keep our residents safe and our services running, you make us proud to be public servants. Diolch yn fawr iawn.
Cllr Neil Moore, Leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council
Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council
Charles Janczewski, Chair of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board