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Any surplus coronavirus vaccines in the UK should be offered to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster has said.<\/p>\nAny surplus coronavirus vaccines in the UK should be offered to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster has said.<\/p>\n
By Sunday, more than 850,000 Covid-19 vaccines had been administered in the North.<\/p>\n
Mrs Foster said more than 50 per cent of the adult population have received their first dose.<\/p>\n
NI health minister Robin Swann said he hopes that the Republic will \u201ccatch up\u201d within a month.<\/p>\n
Mrs Foster said she discussed the issue with UK prime minister Boris Johnson when he visited a vaccination center in Co Fermanagh earlier this month, and pledged to continue that conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he does understand the difficulties, particularly around border areas and the movement of people in relation to vaccination,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is surplus vaccine then we should share it with our nearest neighbors out of neighborliness but also out of the fact it will have an impact of course on us here in Northern Ireland, so there\u2019s a very practical reason why I believe that should happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs Foster received her first dose of the vaccine at the weekend.<\/p>\n
On Monday she commented that apart from a sore arm, she felt well.<\/p>\n
Deputy First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill said she would like to see more co-operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens across these two islands has implications because we move freely across the two islands, so it is crucially important that we have an all-island approach to dealing with vaccination rollout,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do, it\u2019s the good thing to do. It\u2019s responding to a global pandemic, and we are all in this together, so we need to work together in order to protect our people. I would like to see a lot more co-operation as we come out of this period and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Swann said offering vaccine surplus to the Republic of Ireland was the \u201cright thing to do\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy responsibility is to the people of Northern Ireland so, as of our operation here today, my key aim is to get as many people in Northern Ireland vaccinated as quickly as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to have everyone receive their first vaccination by the end of July.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Republic of Ireland, I\u2019ve heard the Taoiseach say they hope to catch up in a couple of weeks or a month\u2019s time, so that\u2019s something we would like to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described the difference in vaccine rates as \u201csimply down to supply chains\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re part of the UK pre-bought program which bought into seven different vaccine sources even before they had been authorized, and the Republic has tied in with the European Union\u2019s vaccine purchasing program, and we\u2019re seeing the challenges that has brought, but we\u2019re also hopeful that any difficulties between the UK and EU or Oxford\/AstraZeneca will be ironed out and ironed out very soon, because this shouldn\u2019t be about politics, this is about public health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
There were reports in a Sunday newspaper that UK ministers were working up plans to share 3.7 million doses with the Republic.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the weekend, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said: “There isn\u2019t an offer that I\u2019m aware of, or that the Government\u2019s aware of, from the UK.”<\/p>\n