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Community vaccinations will begin as planned next month despite disruptions to the delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Minister for Health said.<\/p>\nCommunity vaccinations will begin as planned next month despite disruptions to the delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Minister for Health said.<\/p>\n
Stephen Donnelly said on Monday that Ireland will receive a delivery within the expected range of doses for February, \u201calthough at the lower end of that range\u201d.<\/p>\n
Non-healthcare workers over the age of 70 will begin in the middle of February as planned, he said.<\/p>\n
However, vaccine delivery in March is anticipated to be more severely impacted and \u201cconsiderably lower\u201d that what was initially stated by the company.<\/p>\n
It came as the European Commission demanded an explanation from AstraZeneca over the disruption to its vaccine delivery.<\/p>\n
Mr Donnelly said: \u201cToday we have confirmed that the community vaccination program will begin in February, subject to regulatory approval of AstraZeneca.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite anticipated disruption to deliveries, which was announced on Friday January 22, Ireland will receive a delivery of AstraZeneca vaccine within the expected range for February, although at the lower end of that range.<\/p>\n
\u201cDelivery in March is likely to be more impacted and considerably lower than what was originally stated by the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to prioritize those most vulnerable to Covid-19 in our society against the backdrop of limited supply of vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Sunday, the HSE has administered 143,000 vaccine doses.<\/p>\n
Two doses delivered three or four weeks apart are required for the vaccines currently in use in Ireland, Pfizer\/BioNTech and Moderna, which have secured European Medicines Agency approval.<\/p>\n
Under the Vaccine Allocation Strategy, people aged 70 and older will be vaccinated in the following order: 85 and older, 80-84, 75-79 and then 70-74. These will be administered through GPs in their surgeries.<\/p>\n
The HSE is preparing a public information campaign that will provide all necessary details in advance to the public, to ensure that everyone knows when, where and how to access their vaccine, Mr Donnelly said.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIn the meantime, completing vaccinations for those most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection remains the priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery possible nursing home resident has already received one dose and some have received second doses.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealthcare workers are also a priority. Second doses will be administered over the coming weeks to 77,000 healthcare workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to roll out first and second doses to our remaining frontline healthcare workers during February.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday, the European Commission issued a strongly worded statement demanding answers from pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca over the delays to its delivery schedule.<\/p>\n
Health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said: \u201cThe EU wants to know exactly which doses have been produced whereby AstraZeneca so far, and if, or to whom, they have been delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n
It suggests a suspicion on the EU side that vaccines produced by AstraZeneca that were destined for Europe have been sent elsewhere.<\/p>\n
AstraZeneca have blamed the delays on problems with the European supply chain.<\/p>\n
Ms Kyriakides said: \u201cWe want clarity on transactions and full transparency concerning the export of vaccines from the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said said answers provided by AstraZeneca during a virtual meeting of member state health officials and the European Commission on Monday were \u201cnot satisfactory\u201d.<\/p>\n