Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept the latter point the Deputy made. Whether or not it is a weekly update, I would like the task force to get down to work on this. That is why we have established the task force and I am very determined to move ahead, notwithstanding the work that has already been under way, to be fair, within the normal channels around immunisation. That includes the work of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee and the work done by the Department of Health and the HSE. Given the precise issues in terms of some of the vaccines, particularly the Pfizer-BioNTech one, logistics are important and external expertise is important to be joined to the process. I will keep Deputies up to date on that. There is a bit of work to be done by the companies in terms of getting approval from the statutory authorities and the vaccines being adjudicated to be safe for distribution.

In regard to the flu vaccine, applications for reimbursement through the PCRS have been made in respect of 700,000 doses, which indicates that a substantial amount of vaccine has been distributed but has yet to be administered. The HSE is currently assessing where the greatest level of demand for the flu vaccine remains before issuing the next 50,000 doses. In tune with what the Deputy was saying, the HSE wants the remaining 50,000 doses to be distributed by the end of November and to be prioritised for those who need them the most. I am not sure that it is such a big deal to fill in forms. There has been a good working relationship between the HSE and GPs.

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