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Stormont\u2019s leaders have both signaled a willingness for Northern Ireland’s vaccines to shared with the Republic.<\/p>\nStormont\u2019s leaders have both signaled a willingness for Northern Ireland’s vaccines to shared with the Republic.<\/p>\n
Arlene Foster and Michelle O\u2019Neill were asked about the issue as Covid-19 vaccination rates in the North continue to significantly exceed those south of the border.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, UK prime minister Boris Johnson indicated a willingness to help Ireland with vaccines, but only after the rollout of jabs was complete within the UK.<\/p>\n
At a post-Executive press conference in Dungannon, Mrs Foster and Ms O\u2019Neill were asked about the prospect of sharing vaccines if there continued to be a disparity in vaccination rates on both sides of the border.<\/p>\n
DUP leader Mrs Foster said: \u201cI think that the prime minister has said that once the UK citizens are vaccinated that he is content to have that conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we need to have that conversation because if we\u2019re vaccinated in Northern Ireland and there\u2019s still a cohort of people in the Republic of Ireland not vaccinated and people are moving about and coming up to Northern Ireland then that has an impact on us here in Northern Ireland because of the effectiveness of the vaccine working.”<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we need to have that conversation and I asked our chief medical officer (Dr Michael McBride) today about the efficacy of the vaccine if people were to come into contact with others who hadn\u2019t been recipients of the vaccine, and he said that was something that would be concerning, so we\u2019ll continue to have those conversations, I think it\u2019s very important that we do,\u201d Mrs Foster added.<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Neill said: \u201cWe need to maximize the opportunities that we have as an island in terms of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we could have made a lot more of that throughout the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think nobody should be greedy whenever it comes to vaccines, we\u2019re facing a global pandemic, all people across the world are faced with the impact of the pandemic so, yes, we should be sharing and, yes, we should be working together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the only way in which we\u2019re going to find our way out of this current phase that we\u2019re all in.\u201d<\/p>\n