Dr. Colm Henry:

I thank the members of the committee for the invitation to update them on the HSE’s vaccination programme. Joining me today are Mr. Damien McCallion, national lead for Covid-19 vaccinations, Dr. Lucy Jessop, director of public health, national immunisation office, and Professor Martin Cormican, chairperson, clinical support group.

I will make a brief opening statement on the current situation with the vaccination programme. Regarding our overall objectives, it is important to restate our objectives for the programme, which are to reduce hospitalisations and mortality through vaccination of the most vulnerable groups and to vaccinate the largest number of people possible in the general population.

Significant achievements have been made by the HSE. As of this week, more than 1.2 million vaccines have been administered, comprising the administration of 850,000 first dose vaccines and 350,000 second dose vaccines. I am delighted to report that the majority of residents in long-term residential care facilities have substantially completed their vaccination. In addition, front-line healthcare workers and people over 70 years of age have largely received their first dose or are due to do so this week. We are also well advanced with the vaccination of the very high-risk patients in our hospitals, with over 90,000 vaccinations completed, and we will commence the vaccination of the remainder of those high-risk patients in the community from next week. Vaccinators in this phase have included those in hospital vaccination teams, community vaccination teams, vaccination centres, the National Ambulance Service and general practice. I acknowledge the work of all these staff and those supporting them in the background for their efforts during what have been challenging times.

On supply, we are continuously adjusting our integrated operational plans to align with the updated allocation sequencing and confirmation of supply schedules. Despite many challenges, the HSE has adhered to the Government’s principle of ensuring all available vaccine supplies are administered. We are regularly administering 95% of available vaccine within seven days of delivery. There has been variability between manufacturers, which can cause complications to our operations team. We have faced continual challenges, with changes in supply volumes and delivery dates, but we continue to work to meet our targets in this regard.

On the vaccination plan, clinical oversight and guidance are at the centre of directing the roll-out of the vaccination programme to ensure vaccines can be administered safely, efficiently and effectively. Our ongoing planning and roll-out includes operating models for general practitioners, GPs, hospitals, community vaccination teams, the National Ambulance Service, pharmacies and vaccination centres, alongside the corresponding ICT, infrastructure and recruitment mobilisation. We have faced many planning challenges with changes in supply, cohort definitions and clinical guidance in relation to specific vaccines. Last week, we also had to readjust due to the decision by Janssen to pause delivery of its vaccine product. We are also about to enter another planning cycle this week with the more positive news on increased supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Regarding vaccination centres, 37 such centres have been agreed and the infrastructure is in place for these centres. More than 19 of these centres are already operating for specific patient cohorts, and this will increase to 26 over the remainder of this week. Staffing is in place and those centres already operating have been working well and with good feedback from the public. The remaining centres will open over the coming weeks as the necessary supply and demand processes are put in place. Online registration opened last week for those aged between 65 and 69 years who will have their vaccine administered through the vaccination centres using the AstraZeneca vaccine and that process has gone very smoothly to date. The first appointments have already been offered to those who registered.

We have seen early evidence of the positive impact of the vaccination programme. This is illustrated through reduced mortality, reduced incidence of the disease and reduced hospitalisations. This is particularly evident in the most vulnerable groups who are the initial priority for the programme. The virus and its impacts on society remain largely unpredictable and, as such, the need for proactive monitoring and flexible planning will always be a feature of our response. We continue to adjust our vaccination plan every time a change is required and we will continue to be as agile as possible.