Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

For many weeks and, indeed, months, I have been raising the same issue with the Taoiseach in regard to people in the 60 to 69 age group, some people in cohorts 4 and 7, and also some healthcare workers, all of whom were vaccinated with AstraZeneca and who initially had a 14-week wait for their second dose and then a 12-week wait. I am not an immunologist or a scientist, and nor is the Taoiseach, but I believe in common sense. We have a collective need to address this issue now because there is a race on between, one, the Delta variant coming into our country and, two, the vaccination programme we are doing.

The issue is this: these are the most vulnerable people but, compared with their children and many individuals in their 40s, they are going to have to wait for some period before they are vaccinated. We supported the Government in respect of the age-based roll-out but the latter has been negated as a result of this situation. There are 460,000 people in these categories and they will have to wait up to 12 weeks. We are going to have to do something about this. I have raised this with the Taoiseach in a genuine way, week after week. Respectfully, he knows that. He asked for time and said the Government was looking at it and that the national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, was looking at it.

Since I first raised this issue, I have been inundated with messages. There is deep concern. That concern is intergenerational and involves grandchildren who are worried about their grandparents and sons, daughters, nieces and nephews who are worried about their parents, uncles and aunts. We know from a study in Britain that if a person has the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, he or she is approximately 33% inoculated against the Delta variant. That leaves a major risk for these people. In that light, I ask the Taoiseach if, working with NIAC and, in particular, the HSE, he will bring forward the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for this group of people? This would ensure that, instead of waiting until the end of July, August or whenever, in a few weeks' time - if supplies are available - all of these people can get their second inoculation. The study in the UK to which I refer shows these individuals will have 80% protection against the Delta variant.

I do not want to get into what the Minister for Health said previously about reducing the period to five weeks because, to be honest, that was a bit of sleight of hand. We need a concrete decision from the Government. These are the most vulnerable people. It is ridiculous that younger people are being fully vaccinated. It is ridiculous that the individuals to whom I refer, who comprise the oldest group in the country to not be fully vaccinated - or at least not yet - cannot travel or do everything that everyone else will hopefully be able to do and have been left in a situation whereby the supposed vaccine bonus will not apply at the level previously indicated. I appeal to the Taoiseach to give us good news that we will be able to bring forward the second dose of AstraZeneca in particular for this cohort.

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