County rejects claims staff had vaccine despite being ineligible

Denbighshire County Council has hit back at claims that some of its staff have received the Covid-19 vaccine despite being ineligible. 

It was alleged that some council staff, not within the first two cohorts due the vaccination, managed to book appointments by following a link in an email only intended for the recipient.

This afternoon a statement issued on behalf of the council's Cabinet said: "You will be aware of press stories over the weekend which stated that Denbighshire Council staff had been able to receive Covid vaccinations in spite of being ineligible.  

"To the best of our knowledge this has not happened, but Cabinet has instructed the Chief Executive, Judith Greenhalgh, to launch an internal investigation to confirm this.

"Since we found that the regional system was potentially open to abuse we instructed DCC staff that the invitation to be vaccinated should not be shared, and that the consequences of doing so would be subject to disciplinary action.  

"The Health Board had been provided with a list of eligible staff and our understanding is that nobody has been able to use this system to receive the vaccination who is not eligible to receive one.

"We know that our staff have been working above and beyond to keep residents of Denbighshire safe during the pandemic and we are confident that the overwhelming majority of them have not - and would not - abuse the system.  

"Meanwhile we continue to work with partners across the region to ensure that people are vaccinated in the order of prioritisation that is in place across the country."