Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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337. To ask the Minister for Health the projected deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines into Ireland for the next six months; the quantities of each in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10936/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland is working as part of the EU to secure a safe and stable supply of Covid-19 vaccinations and expects to receive a total of 1.25 million doses of the three currently approved vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca) before end March 2021.

Ireland is currently above the EU average with about 2.6% of our population fully vaccinated and 6.9 doses administered per 100 of our population.

Vaccines continue to be administered very quickly after their arrival into the country, although supply is currently limited by a number of factors including manufacturing constraints. Further significant progress will be made over the coming months, as additional quantities of vaccine supplies arrive into the country and more vaccines are approved, which will substantially increase capacity to administer vaccines and reach broader population coverage.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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338. To ask the Minister for Health the advice he is following in relation to mixing vaccines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10937/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation. It makes recommendations on vaccination policy to my Department. The NIAC review all data relating to COVID-19 vaccines on a rolling basis.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee advice as per their published chapter on COVID-19 vaccines states that there is no data on the interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines. The same vaccine should be used for both doses.

You can read the guidelines at:

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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339. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the strategy for deployment of a vaccine (details supplied) in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10938/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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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 Product Regulatory Authority (HPRA).

The EMA received an application for conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Janssen-Cilag International N.V on 16 February 2021.

The EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) will assess the vaccine, known as COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen, under an accelerated timetable. The Committee may issue an opinion by the middle of March 2021, provided the company’s data on the vaccine’s efficacy, safety and quality are sufficiently comprehensive and robust.