Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the vaccine roll-out with the House. By the end of this week, approximately 500,000 vaccine doses will have been administered. Our aim has been and remains to administer vaccines as they arrive into the country, while maintaining a small buffer to ensure people get their second dose as scheduled. This aim is being met.

At the start of this week, we had received delivery of approximately 520,000 vaccine doses. By the end of this week, approximately 500,000 of these will have been administered. I am delighted to be able to share with the House today that cohort 4, that is, those with underlying conditions putting them at very high-risk, will begin to be vaccinated next week. It is really good and welcome news. It is a complex group and complex work, planning and engagement is going on. The HSE is currently working through the details on how these patients will be contacted and where they will be vaccinated. I am sure it is a development we all welcome in the House today, however.

We have been able to do all this, in terms of the number of vaccines that have been rolled out, thanks to what really is an army of vaccinators, including our school and community vaccination teams, thousands in general practice, including GPs, practice nurses and administrative staff, hospital-based healthcare workers, both clinical and administrative, medical students, the fantastic support of the Defence Forces, the involvement of voluntary organisations, such as the Order of Malta Ireland, staff in nursing homes and other residential and daycare facilities and many more right across the country. It has been, remains and will continue to be a truly national effort.

There are challenges, of course. The HSE is managing a vaccination programme with uncertain supplies arriving, particularly from AstraZeneca. I remain concerned about the ability of AstraZeneca to deliver on schedule and at the agreed volumes. The HSE is managing a complex distribution network involving 1,300 GP practices across the country, with vaccines that must be handled very carefully, and in the case of Pfizer, a vaccine whereby there are five days from when the freezers are opened in Dublin to when the vaccine can be administered.

The HSE is managing a vaccination programme for which the clinical advice is updated on a regular basis, as it should be, as new studies and new evidence emerges from around world providing our experts, namely, the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, and the HSE with the most up-to-date information.

Yet, in spite of all this complexity and uncertainty in this rapidly evolving situation, thanks to the efforts of everybody involved in the national vaccination programme, Ireland has consistently had one of the fastest roll-outs anywhere in the European Union. It is very important that we acknowledge the work of the vaccination teams across Ireland which has made that possible. It is no mean feat. We have achieved that while, at the same time, prioritising the most vulnerable.

Thanks to the efforts of all the people involved - 6% of our population have now had at least one dose - there has been a huge reduction in Covid-19 infections in nursing homes and healthcare settings and the vast majority of people aged 85 and older will have received their first dose by the end of this week. Most of our front-line healthcare workers will also have received at least their first dose by the end of this week. Our vaccination programme is only 65 days old. Much has, therefore, been achieved.

Next week, the European Medicines Agency, EMA, will make its decision on the Janssen vaccine. This is a single-dose vaccine serving to further enhance Ireland’s vaccine portfolio and facilitate the continued acceleration of the programme, which is something we all want. Our hope is that the EMA will authorise the Janssen vaccine.

Last week, I received the Government's approval to purchase additional doses of Moderna and opt in to future advanced purchase agreements with both Novavax and Valneva. This will take Ireland’s total vaccine supply to over 18 million doses. When one accounts for the fact that the Janssen vaccine will be a single dose, we have advance purchased enough to fully vaccinate more than 10 million people.

Ireland will also be contributing vaccine to other countries via the EU’s contribution to COVAX. This is only right and ethical. The pandemic will not end until everyone has access to a vaccine. At a meeting of EU health ministers earlier this week, I called on the EU to do more and to be the leading force globally when it comes to a just global vaccine programme. We need to do this because it is the ethical thing to do and we need the world vaccinated to have the best possible defence against this awful virus.

The Covid-19 vaccine allocation strategy sets out how the population should be prioritised for vaccination. The initial strategy was approved by the Government in December. Last week, I announced that the strategy had been updated to reflect emerging evidence on the disease. When compiling the initial vaccine priority list, the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, listed several conditions associated with increased risk of severe disease and death. It was indicated at the time that the allocation groups may be updated in the future, if necessary, in light of new evidence. In recent months, we have seen the emergence of the B117 variant of the disease which is more transmissible and more severe in terms of hospitalisation.

Thankfully, we now know much more about the disease than we did a few short months ago. There is a growing body of national and international evidence on which comorbidities present the greatest risk for those who contract Covid-19. NIAC has used these findings to inform its revised recommendations. The updated strategy identifies those with underlying conditions at either very high or high risk of severe disease or death as a result of contracting Covid-19. Priority will be given to these groups as the programme progresses. Vaccination for cohort 4, the group deemed to be at very high risk due to underlying conditions, will commence next week.

Accelerating the vaccination of those with certain pre-existing medical conditions adheres to the ethos of the vaccination programme to minimise harm and ensure equitable access to vaccination. The primary aim of the Covid-19 vaccination programme remains unchanged. We are continuing to vaccinate those most likely to suffer severe disease and, sadly, death as a result of contracting Covid-19. The changes made are based on the latest clinical and medical advice that those who are being prioritised would suffer the worst outcomes if they were to contract the disease. The approach is also consistent with the advice given to EU member states by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The vaccination programme is being adapted to account for NIAC’s recommendations to ensure those who are most vulnerable continue to be prioritised. NIAC will continue to monitor data around the disease and emerging evidence on effectiveness of vaccines on a rolling basis.

The Covid-19 vaccination programme is truly a national effort. Up to 1,300 general practices are participating in the vaccination programme at this stage. This week is also seeing those aged between 80 and 84 begin to receive invitations to attend for vaccination.

There is significant demand for and confidence in Covid-19 vaccines from the public. Up to 86% of the public now indicate they will definitely or probably seek the vaccination when it is available. There will be an extensive communications campaign in an effort to further increase uptake. We anticipate significantly increased vaccine supply from next month. Preparations continue to be made in order to ensure this can be administered without delay.

We continue to build the appropriate capability, processes and systems to quickly distribute all vaccines as supply increases. As of last Monday, 8,629 vaccinators are trained. I signed a statutory instrument last week to enable registered optometrists and dentists to administer Covid-19 vaccine. Large vaccination centres are already in operation in Dublin’s Helix Theatre, Cork’s Munster Technological University campus and Galway’s Merlin Park. These will be joined by many more in the coming period with 37 sites having been selected including one for each county.

It is just over a year since this disease resulted in the declaration of a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. Over the past year, it has inflicted an enormous toll of grief and hardship on so many, here and around the world. While we must remain vigilant and continue to adhere to public health measures, the vaccination programme continues to be a source of hope. Continuing to maintain reduced personal contacts is extremely difficult for the public, particularly as the weather improves after enduring an incredibly difficult winter. As vaccine supply increases, however, we have genuine cause for optimism. Vaccine availability is anticipated to increase significantly from April. From that point, we expect 1 million doses to be administered each month, subject to the delivery of contracted supplies. As we progress through spring and into the summer, I am confident there are better days ahead.

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