Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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I thank our visitors for their presentations. My first question goes back to the issue of the flu vaccine. I would like to ask Dr. Sisson a few questions in that regard. I commend the work being done to improve the uptake of the vaccine among healthcare workers. It is really important that we boost this year's figure in comparison with those in recent years. I also note that last week the European Commission advised member states to start their vaccination programmes earlier than normal because of the Covid threat. Has that impacted the HSE's proposed timescale? That is the first question.

My second question relates to additional orders for vaccines. We heard last Friday that an additional 200,000 vaccines had been ordered. This seems to be quite a small addition given the need to substantially increase uptake. What is Dr. Sisson's view on that?

While I welcome the extension of free vaccination and vaccine availability through GPs, is it intended to extend these measures to pharmacies? Those are my three questions.