Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I concur with the Chair's comments and thank Professor MacCraith, the task force, Professor Butler, and the team at the national immunisation advisory committee at the HSE and the Department of Health for their work to date in developing the strategy and implementation plan. From reading the strategy and the plan, it is clear the guidance and advice received from the European Commission in October has been used to develop these and that the plan is in line with international best practice outlined by the EU, such as ensuring that we view the vaccine as an addition rather than a replacement for other measures, target at-risk groups, resource the deployment properly, and that there is co-operation and consultation with our European partners and neighbours.

What engagement has there been with GPs and pharmacists on the roll-out of the plan?

The most important part of the plan is the immense need to build confidence in the vaccine programme and in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. Five companies have been signed up so far. It is vital that people are given accurate, factual, objective information about the importance of the vaccine but also its safety and effectiveness. We saw this in the early stages of Covid when there was a lot of explaining what it was, how it operates, how it spreads, how it effects the body, the signs to watch for and, most importantly, what one needs to do to protect oneself and others. That is what is needed now. To what extent has there been engagement in implementing the most effective communication and public awareness campaign? Have we identified the organisation or agency most responsible for this? The European Medicines Agency approved the vaccine, while the HPRA advises on the regulation and safety of medicines and vaccines. Which organisation will lead the information and public awareness campaign? It is not enough to react; we must actively build and maintain confidence. False claims and misleading information can spread faster than the virus itself and be just as lethal.

What is the view of the witnesses on actions such as an information booklet being sent to every household with details on vaccines, how they work, what they do and details on the sources of the research and engaging with social media companies including Facebook and Twitter so that inaccurate, misleading or scaremongering claims are marked as disputed in a similar way to some of President Trump's tweets claiming he had won the election are marked as being disputed, and so on? People could then be directed to an impartial, verified accurate account providing that information.

I wholeheartedly agree with the assertion in the implementation plan that vaccines are a proven and cost-effective intervention to protect public health, second only to the provision of clean water. However, I worry about the impact of campaigns to discredit vaccines. I fear they will cost lives if we do not prepare properly and proactively. I am interested in our guest's comments.