Dr. Colm Henry:

The useful thing with the list of patient priorities is that it is a transparent description, not just that there are priority groups but that they are arrived at based on the ethical principles that I described and that are contained in the document. I appreciate that there is much we do not know yet. We do not know the timeline of the delivery of the first vaccine, which we hope will get EMA approval. We also do not know the timeline of the Moderna vaccine, which in a sense lends itself more easily to a mass vaccination programme. Thereafter, other vaccines will come through that will have different licence, training and educational requirements.

I would share the opinion of those who put this document together. Groups were prioritised to reduce the morbidity and mortality of this horrendous virus to the maximum effect and to afford the greatest protection to the most vulnerable groups in society.