Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The short answer is that we must await the guidance of the European Medicines Agency, EMA. The process is as follows. The vaccine is under consideration at the moment and we all hope that it is approved. When it is approved, the EMA will issue highly technical guidance to our own experts here. They look at that guidance and provide advice on the best way to use it. For example, with the AstraZeneca vaccine, when the technical information was issued with the EMA's authorisation, NIAC looked at it and then made various recommendations to NPHET in respect of the age groups suitable for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Therefore, we must await the guidance of the EMA.