Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Henry and Professor Butler. I very much appreciate the work that is being done by them and all their back-up support teams and the progress that has been made to date.

I will raise a number of issues, the first of which is with regard to the roll-out of the vaccine and the approach now being adopted in Denmark in administering the vaccine. My understanding, and I may not have the correct medical terms, is that vaccinators are drawing back the syringe to make sure they have not hit a blood supply vessel. I was recently asked to deal with it on 96FM in Cork, where Dr. John Campbell was maintaining, or made a suggestion, that if a vaccine hits a blood supply or goes into a vein directly it can contribute to clotting.

With regard to the vaccination in Ireland, while I know the vaccine is supposed to be administered into the muscle, is there a mechanism similar to what Denmark now has? It has changed its policy to deal with this issue. Is that being reviewed in Ireland as regards how we roll out the vaccine?