Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is moving well. By the end of this week we aim to have administered more than 5 million vaccine doses. We have very high uptake rates among the populations to whom it is available. We are now using the full range of vaccines across all age groups. That has helped because it means we can use all the vaccines coming in. We have good line of sight on many of the deliveries we are expecting in the coming weeks. There have been and there remain challenges with some of the volumes that were contracted and did not arrive. There is no question about that. Not everything that was contracted arrived. There are ongoing conversations between me, the Department, the task force, the HSE and the pharmaceutical companies to that end, but I can say there is a lot of very positive progress. This week, for example, the portal opens for the alternative pathway for the cohort of people for whom mRNA vaccines are preferred by NIAC but who, if they want to be vaccinated earlier, can now opt for AstraZeneca through a vaccination centre.

We have very strong demand through the pharmacies for Janssen and more Janssen will be distributed soon. Some 40,000 doses were distributed and another 85,000 or so are to go out soon. Things are moving apace.