Dr. Tony Holohan:

I should have given a slightly longer answer to the Senator's question because, in fairness, he asked what was meant by "fully vaccinated"? The duration is slightly different for different vaccines, as members know. For Moderna, full vaccination is two weeks after the second dose, which means six weeks from the first dose. For Pfizer, it is one week after the second dose, which means five weeks after the first dose. For AstraZeneca, it is two weeks after the second dose, for the purpose of travel, at least. We have a lower level in respect of some of the activities within the country but we are just talking about travel now. For the Janssen vaccine, full vaccination is two weeks after the single dose. There is a slightly different period for each vaccine. I should have pointed out the position on where there is PCR evidence of infection within the past nine months — in other words, evidence of recovery. For many countries, that will involve a sizeable percentage of the population. Up to 10% of the population of this country could have PCR-demonstrated evidence of infection. All of those criteria are the qualifying criteria. Unvaccinated people will still have to go through the testing arrangements. We would need to retain an ability to examine what is happening and the possibility of an increase in the rate of infection that requires us to take action. Unfortunately in this regard, our nearest neighbour has seen a surge in infection caused by a genuine variant of concern. The measures put in place at EU level make provision for some of the arrangements and "emergency breaks", as they are called, to be applied if such concerns arise.