John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last week in this House I spoke about the real problem of vaccine scepticism. Today, I want to discuss the need to build vaccine confidence. Building vaccine confidence is not just the reserve of Government and Members of this House; it is the reserve of everyone across Irish society who occupies a public platform, whether they are sports stars or influencers. It is more important than ever that this principle must apply to the national broadcaster and the media at large. I will not mention any names but we have seen this week an example of a view being presented that was not based on reality, fact, a pro-science approach or data of any sort. That is simply unacceptable. To simply be allowed to say, unchallenged, that there is no scientific data to support vaccines, when Moderna released data to show that of 30,000 people tested - 15,000 of whom were given a vaccine and 15,000 of whom were given a placebo - and of those who got the vaccine, 15 presented with symptoms, and of those who did not get the vaccine, 185 presented with symptoms. That is clear, cold, hard, clinical data. What more could one want? To say that we do not have evidence on the efficacy of vaccines is wrong, as is advocating for a zero-Covid approach, which has been debunked at every opportunity by everyone on this island of all political parties. To say such a thing and for it to go unchallenged is also wrong. Therefore there is a huge weight of responsibility, not just on those in this House but also on those in the media and right across Irish society, to build vaccine confidence. Quackery cannot go unchallenged as we build that confidence.