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The first Covid vaccines could be administered in Northern Ireland next week, Stormont\u2019s Health Minister has said.<\/p>\nThe first Covid vaccines could be administered in Northern Ireland next week, Stormont\u2019s Health Minister has said.<\/p>\n
Robin Swann said the approval of UK regulators for the Pfizer\/BioNTech vaccine could see the scheduled December 14th roll out date brought forward by a few days.<\/p>\n
Mr Swann said the region would receive 25,000 jabs as part of the initial batch arriving in the UK.<\/p>\n
Healthcare workers are likely to receive the first Covid vaccines in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would hope to have a supply of vaccine next week, which could actually see that date come forward by a few days,\u201d said Mr Swann.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be working through the exact logistics of the dispatch of the vaccine from Belgium across to the UK and how we get that distributed through your system.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister urged caution and stressed that compliance with Covid-19 regulations is still vital.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the beginning of the end, it\u2019s not the end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be weeks and it\u2019ll be well into next year before we\u2019re looking to that larger mass vaccination program across the population of Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, as I say, this is the beginning of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not there yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we do ask the people in Northern Ireland to continue to maintain and follow the regulations that are there.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThis is light at the end of the tunnel but that tunnel to me is still well into next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing safety concerns raised by some members of the public, Mr Swann insisted no corners had been cut by the vaccine regulators.<\/p>\n
First Minister Arlene Foster said the vaccine approval was an early \u201cChristmas present\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis does give us the road back to normality and I think everybody has been waiting for that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud today that the United Kingdom has been able to do this and that we will all benefit from this vaccine coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs Foster said the rollout of Covid vaccines would be a \u201chuge challenge\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said the Stormont Executive also has to plan for economic recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we need to find a way out of this that brings recovery back to the United Kingdom and to Northern Ireland, of course, in particular, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll be working on in the weeks to come as well as working on, of course, all of the logistical challenges on the rollout of the vaccine and mass testing,\u201d she told Radio Ulster.<\/p>\n
First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill said the vaccine approval marked a \u201cturning point\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is the news that people have been waiting for now for the best of 10 months when we\u2019ve all been challenged to the limits, so I think this is a very positive story,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a turning point in our Covid battle, and I think people should feel that, and they\u2019re right to feel it because it has been such a challenging time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Neill acknowledged that the Pfizer\/BioNTech vaccine was the most \u201cproblematic\u201d in terms of the logistical challenges over storage and batch sizes.<\/p>\n
The Sinn F\u00e9in vice president said she would have no issue taking the vaccine herself, but added that it is for medical experts to convince those people who have \u201cnatural and understandable\u201d concerns.<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Neill rejected any suggestion of a mandatory vaccination program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s about freedom of choice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I would be more in the camp of encouraging people to take the vaccine, I think it\u2019s important that people do.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t believe that it should be mandatory, I don\u2019t believe that in any sort of scenario.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s for us to convince people of the merits and why it\u2019s important, and I think it\u2019s for the medical and scientific evidence to back that all up and then people to make their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n