Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank Dr. Glynn and his team for the phenomenal work they are doing. I appreciate it. I never thought that in my lifetime, and I am a long time on this earth, I would see a pandemic such as this. This is all new for everybody. I believe NPHET is doing a great job and I thank it for that.

I do not have a great deal to say. The concerns I have are about the long-term impact on mental health and the tsunami that will come in the future. There is no person on this island who has not been impacted in some way. Many people are struggling with loneliness. We can also look at the impact on health workers and front-line staff. I believe we are facing a tsunami of mental health issues. I have a question, and I realise much of it has been covered today. Many people are concerned about the rare blood clotting disorder associated with the AstraZenaca vaccine. As has been said today, this could lead to people refusing the vaccine. I recently heard that the Taoiseach said the blood clotting disorder is treatable. I want to check if this is true. I believe people's minds would be put at rest if they knew that this blood clotting disorder is not fatal.

If it is true that it is non-fatal and treatable then that is where we should really look at the media. One hears all the time from the media that AstraZeneca causes blood clots but I would prefer if we could hear that it is going to be okay, that it is treatable, that people are not going to die and that it is more important to deal with the Covid pandemic than to deal with the blood clotting. I am wondering what the NPHET members' thoughts are on that.