Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her comments about everyone involved in the vaccine programme. It is not just our healthcare workers but so many others as well. I agree with her wholeheartedly. The programme is moving at pace. I am delighted to hear she got her first vaccine. I have registered for mine but have not been given a date yet. What I am hearing again and again is that it is running very efficiently on the ground and people are being taken care of, which we always want to see. I thank the Deputy for those comments.

With regard to Community Call, maybe this is a conversation we could have after the debate. We do not want people to be in a situation where they cannot get access so if we can help, we absolutely will.

Vaccine hesitancy is something we are constantly working on. There has been very little of it online compared with some other countries and that is because we have people who have been constantly calling out much of the false information that has been circulated. We are doing well by European and international standards but I fully take on board the Deputy's points that we need to keep engaging, particularly with younger populations. I have figures on the uptake for cohorts to date that I can share with the House. It has been very positive.

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