Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Today, the people have hope. Our economy and society are on the verge of reopening and that is very welcome. However, the Minister for Health came to the House earlier and dropped a bombshell as regards vaccine delivery. There are a number of issues I want to raise with the Tánaiste as a result of that. These are not gotcha questions; they are just to elicit information so that the public can be aware. There is no way in which we can meet the 82% first-dose target or the 55% target for full vaccination by the end of June. We were meant to receive 470,000 doses of Janssen next month from a total order of 600,000. It was meant to be our workhorse vaccine. Obviously, the Tánaiste was aware of this, but will he inform the House as to what he expects to be the percentages we will get to in the context of the administering of first and second doses by the end of June? I know it will be a guesstimate but, for the information of the public, I would appreciate if he could give us an indication. I never believed that 55% was achievable for second doses but I did believe that 82% was achievable.

I want also to ask about the Government's discussions with the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, as a result of the information that came from the Minister for Health this morning. Was NPHET fully aware, in its discussions from which it has given advice to the Government, that this drop in vaccine delivery was going to happen? Was that considered as part of the advice NPHET gave? Will the Tánaiste confirm whether that variable was part of the mix in the context of the advice NPHET gave to the Government? A big announcement is due to be made on Friday and I do not want the public to have an anxious 24 hours, given the positive vibe that has been given out by the Tánaiste and other members of the Government regarding the advice coming through from NPHET. Was this part of the discussion and was NPHET fully aware of what was happening?

My third issue relates to a question I have asked previously. I want some information. There are more than 400,000 people, some of whom are watching this debate, who are aged between 60 and 69 years. A study from Public Health England shows the first dose of AstraZeneca is only 33% effective against the Indian variant. The Minister for Health clearly stated earlier that there is no intention of giving a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna to this cohort. He was less clear about reducing the gap between doses from between 12 and 16 weeks to eight weeks. I accept that doing so could be disruptive of supply. However, that is secondary to the fact these people are likely to be the most vulnerable, will have to wait the longest to be fully vaccinated and are at risk from new variants. Will the Government please ask the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, to discuss this matter? I am not an expert, nor is the Tánaiste. Can we just get advice from NIAC on it?

To conclude, I reiterate that these are not gotcha questions. What will be the levels of first and second dose by the end of June? Was NPHET fully aware of the vaccine drop-off as regards the advice it gave to the Government this week? Will the Government ask NIAC about reducing the gap between doses for 60- to 69-year-olds?

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