Professor Paddy Mallon:

I agree the flu vaccine should be mandatory for healthcare workers. I also fully support the expanded availability of the flu vaccine as a public health measure. The one thing about public health measures in general is that an expected uptake of any measure will always be dented if it comes at a cost to the public. This can be either the provision of the vaccine or the provision of masks or, as the Deputy said, the provision of higher grade more expensive masks to certain cohorts in the population, particularly members of the population who may not have the financial stability to secure them. Any consideration of a public health measure needs to take cost into account. If it is something that is expected to be widespread and expected to be effective, as the flu vaccine and mask use will need to be if they are to be useful, then we need to examine whether it should be made freely available. It is only by doing this that we will get the maximum impact from the intervention.