Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To date, in excess of 276,000 vaccines have been administered. It is expected that this group will be substantially completed in the coming weeks. The 60-69 age group are being vaccinated through vaccination centres, with more than 208,000 vaccines administered to date. The expectation is that this group will be substantially completed by the end of December. Importantly, test positivity has been reducing in some older adult age groups, which shows that where people have been taking up the offer of a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in high numbers, we are seeing significant reductions in the incidence of disease.

I also welcome NIAC's recent recommendation to extend the booster vaccine to all individuals aged 16 years and older, and that the interval between completion of primary vaccination and the booster dose be reduced to three months. In making its latest recommendations, NIAC has reiterated that vaccine booster doses should continue to be offered in the priority order previously outlined. As Minister of State with special responsibility for mental health and older people, I am pleased we are continuing to protect those most at risk of severe illness and poor clinical outcomes.

Huge inroads have been made in the administration of booster vaccinations through the home vaccination service. The first phase of the programme, which commenced at the end of October, included people who are immunocompromised and individuals aged 80 years and older. The programme was extended to people aged 60-79 years last month. To date, more than 780 vaccines have been administered and the programme is expected to be completed by the end of December.

The roll-out of the booster vaccination programme among people aged 65 and over in long-term residential care facilities, including nursing homes, has been substantially completed since the end of last month, having commenced on 4 October. Vaccination teams were operational within all areas of the country, seven days a week, which saw the majority of care facilities complete the booster programme within a three-week period. Following extensive discussions with the Department and the relevant health agencies, I very much welcome the expansion of the booster vaccination programme to individuals of all ages living in long-term residential care facilities. To date, more than 4,500 booster doses have been administered to persons aged younger than 65 years who reside in long-term residential care. As of 12 December, more than 24,000 residents aged 65 years and older in long-term residential care facilities, including nursing homes, have received their booster vaccination. Community vaccination teams will continue to administer vaccines for people who were advised to have their booster vaccine deferred or who are in facilities where there was an outbreak of cases at the time. The booster programme, which has been extended to all healthcare workers, including those in nursing homes, is progressing and will add further to the protections afforded to front-line health staff and the people under their care.

I take the opportunity today to assure the House that significant supports continue to be made available to nursing homes in response to Covid-19. The outbreak assistance element of the temporary assistance payment scheme provided to the private and voluntary nursing home sector continues. I am delighted to announce today that the outbreak assistance element of the scheme, which was to conclude in December, will now be extended until March 2022. Some €134 million has been made available to the sector between 2020 and 2021. Due to the extension of the outbreak assistance until March 2022, which we will keep under review, €1.75 million has been paid to nursing homes under 75 separate claims since the end of June. A broad suite of other supports and measures continue to be provided to nursing homes, including 23 Covid-19 response teams; the supply of precautionary and enhanced PPE, free of charge; where possible, access to staff from community and acute hospitals; a suite of focused public health guidance and training resources, including a further series of infection prevention and control webinars delivered by HIQA in September, with nearly 800 attendees from nursing home staff; and temporary accommodation for nursing home staff to support measures to block the chain of transmission. All of those assistance measures are still in place.

Of note, serial testing has been reintroduced to all nursing homes for two cycles and commenced on 6 December. The second cycle will begin in early January. I reassure the House that I meet regularly with the HSE, HIQA and the Department on the evolving impact of the pandemic in nursing homes and I continue to monitor the situation very closely to ensure all necessary supports and guidance are sustained and enhanced where required. There is no doubt the protection of people living in nursing homes has been prioritised once again through the roll-out of the booster vaccination programme and the continuation of a broad range of supports. Furthermore, almost €18 million has been allocated under budget 2022 to ensure the continued implementation of the recommendations of the Covid-19 nursing homes expert panel report. This investment will provide for further improvements across the sector, including, among others, the establishment of a permanent multidisciplinary, enhanced community support team in each community healthcare organisation, CHO, and the pilot of the safe staffing framework for long-term residential care.

I wish to provide an update on the progress that has been made in mental health services to address the emerging challenges posed by Covid. I am very pleased to confirm that all consenting individuals in long-term residential mental health care have received their booster vaccine. In addition, the roll-out of booster doses to people with certain mental health difficulties in the community is well under way. All eligible mental health staff are being called for their booster vaccine through their community vaccination centres.

While there are new and evolving challenges posed by Covid-19, we continue to make significant progress in our shared, collective response to the virus. Our health system continues to adapt and reconfigure through the provision of additional investment and enhanced supports to ensure the continued delivery of much-needed services. This includes the provision of services to some of the most vulnerable in society, including older people in nursing homes and individuals with severe or enduring mental health difficulties. The Government has moved quickly in an attempt to stabilise the current situation and will continue to do so, building on current public health guidance, revised travel measures, a world-class vaccination programme and the continued roll-out of the booster vaccine.

It is essential, however, that we all continue to adhere to basic measures to protect ourselves and those around us. This means isolating and getting tested if we have symptoms; wearing a face covering, where appropriate; making sure indoor spaces are well ventilated; maintaining social distancing whenever appropriate; and covering our coughs and sneezes and keeping our hands clean.

I conclude by again appealing to anyone who is not yet vaccinated to come forward and speak to a medical professional about their concerns, and to those offered the booster to please take it. I was one of the cohort that was vaccinated in late May with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. I have to say I was concerned over the last month that the efficacy had waned so I was delighted to receive my booster from my pharmacist last Monday week. It was a relief. It is something I have raised with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health in regard to that cohort who received Johnson & Johnson. In my age group at the time, it was the class of 1966 who were called and I met so many people that day. I am conscious there are many 20 to 30-year-olds who also received the one-jab Janssen vaccine, although they were delighted at the time. I welcome the fact they are going to be accelerated, as the Tánaiste said earlier. If we all contribute to this collective effort, we will keep our society and economy open, we will maintain our progress and we will keep people healthy and safe.

I wish everyone in the House, all the staff and all my colleagues a happy, healthy and safe Christmas. I am very conscious of all of the people who will be working in retail, the health sector and hospitality over Christmas and who might not get Christmas Day off, as we hope to. I wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas.

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