Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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It is satisfying to raise an issue that the Cabinet has addressed at least in part today, with the publication of who is going to get the Covid vaccine and the logic and the sequence of how that is going to happen. People are going to be understandably impatient and they are going to want as much information as possible. How and when they are going to get it will be crucial if we want to keep people with us as we roll out this vaccine.

It is simply extraordinary what science has managed to achieve in discovering the new RNA vaccine technology and that it has been able to develop this within the period since the beginning of this year. While it is absolutely unprecedented in terms of scientific achievement, we now have an equal challenge in terms of the logistics of the delivery of the vaccine. It is a logistical challenge like none of us has ever seen before, a logistical challenge that is only comparable to the effort around the Second World War. The volume, the scale and the urgency of the roll-out of this vaccine is unprecedented. I urge the Government to be as transparent as possible at the earliest stage in regard to how people are going to get it.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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It is welcome that the Minister has made the announcement today setting out clear guidelines in regard to how different groups will get the vaccine and the priority that has been decided. It is important that we acknowledge the work of everyone involved in this matter, in particular the National Immunisation Advisory Committee for its recommendations.

I agree with my colleague about transparency. This is going to be quite a complex roll-out because it is not just one round of vaccinations. There will be a second round, as I understand it. It is important, therefore, that records are kept and that they are carefully structured. I have not seen yet how this is going to be managed during the roll-out to make sure records are carefully kept of who has received the vaccine before the second round occurs. It is important there is clarification on that.

I note we are talking about people who are vulnerable, especially people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, who are the No. 1 priority. There are also those working in the healthcare sector. That includes everyone in the healthcare sector, the doctors, nurses and care assistants, but also the people who are on the ground in healthcare facilities. They also need to be prioritised because they provide a major contribution in making sure healthcare is delivered, whether that is porters, cleaning staff or administrative staff. It is extremely important they are included when we talk about healthcare workers in all of that area.

To conclude, we need clarification in regard to the record keeping and how that is going to be monitored as we roll out this vaccine.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for giving me the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to update the House on the Covid-19 immunisation programme. The Government is committed to the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccination programme as soon as suitable products have been authorised and supplies are available. In this regard, a high-level task force has recently been established, under the chairmanship of Professor Brian MacCraith, to support and oversee the development and implementation of the programme. The task force is working on a national Covid-19 vaccination strategy and implementation plan, and aims to submit this by Friday, 11 December. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, will then bring the output of the task force's work to Government for consideration, and subject to the outcome of this discussion, it is the intention that the vaccination strategy and implementation plan will be published.

Today, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, announced the allocation strategy for Covid-19 vaccines, following sign-off from Cabinet. The allocation process that should apply to the vaccination of the population is based on the advice of national experts on immunisation and the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET. The Covid-19 vaccine allocation strategy is based on a Department of Health and National Immunisation Advisory Committee paper. It sets out a provisional priority list of groups for vaccination once a safe and effective vaccine has received authorisation from the European Medicines Agency. This paper was endorsed by NPHET on 3 December.

In terms of procurement of vaccines, Ireland is taking part in a procurement exercise being operated by the European Commission on behalf of member states to procure suitable, safe and effective vaccines, in sufficient quantities, to combat Covid-19. Although Ireland has secured large numbers of doses of candidate vaccines, the initial availability will be limited if authorised for use. Therefore, a prioritisation strategy had to be developed.

So far, Ireland has opted into five advance purchase agreements, APA, with pharmaceutical companies and a process is in place to opt into a sixth APA. Covid-19 vaccines can only be approved and used if they comply with all the requirements of quality, safety and efficacy set out in the EU pharmaceutical legislation. No vaccine will be used until market authorisation from the European Medicines Agency, EMA, is obtained and any authorised vaccine will be subject to ongoing monitoring in Ireland by the Health Products Regulatory Authority.

Ireland, similar to all other member states, is awaiting conditional market authorisation by the EMA for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and other vaccine candidates such as Moderna and AstraZeneca. It has been agreed at EU level that this is the most appropriate process regarding those new and rapidly-developed vaccines.

The EMA has stated that it wishes to take the time and make sure that the quality, effectiveness and safety is assured and matches EU standards.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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What the Minister of State said is very welcome and it is appropriate to wait for the EMA sign-off. I believe in people's minds that has already happened and they are planning when access to the vaccine might happen for them. In that sense what I am saying about the how and the when becomes important. There may be ways in which we can use the technology we have, such as the Covid tracker app, for people to be able to register an interest, select their location and get a sense of where the centres will be located. Are we going to rely on existing architecture with pharmacists, GPs or hospitals, or create additional architecture that enables us to get through this logistical challenge much more quickly? Those are all the questions people will have and we could get to a point mid-way through next year where we end up with some unrest if we have not provided real clarity on the how and the when for people at every stage. Ultimately, the vaccine will not be truly successful until enough people have got it to stop the spread of the virus and prevent serious illness and death. I thank the Minister of State for all his work on it.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I very much welcome the Minister of State's statement and the statement by the Minister earlier today. I again raise the issue of the record keeping and how that will be completed. It is important that clarification on that is given at a very early stage. Whether people do or do not have medical cards, across the board we need to have careful records kept of who is getting the vaccine and who must get it the second time around, if that is the procedure that will be adopted.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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We all agree that recent news from the vaccine developers is a beacon of hope after a very difficult year. Vaccination is a hugely effective intervention for saving lives and promoting good health. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines is our absolute priority and any Covid-19 vaccine administered in Ireland will have to be authorised by the European Medicines Agency.

While we await news on whether these vaccines comply with all the EMA's requirement of quality, safety and efficacy, the Government had been working ahead on plans for the roll-out of vaccines. A key part of the roll-out will be ensuring that those most vulnerable to Covid-19 will receive vaccinations first. Given the country's experience with Covid-19 to date and the risk that vulnerable people and those in front-line roles in health and social care services continue to face, it is only right that they are prioritised in the allocation of the vaccine. The Government has followed the advice from our leading medical experts to guide us through this process.