Covid-19 Pandemic

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 December 2020

Thursday, 10 December 2020

Questions (78)

Gino Kenny

Question:

78. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of the way in which the Covid-19 vaccine will be rolled out across the country; if a new database will be developed to ensure a professional tracking system for both shots of the vaccine; if the programme will be rolled out by the public health regions; the role that general practitioners will play in this roll-out; if there will be a prioritisation of vulnerable groups; if so, the order of this prioritisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42359/20]

Oral answers (7 contributions)

Deputy Gino Kenny

Those who saw the images a number of days ago from Britain of Margaret Keenan being the first person in the world to get the vaccine for Covid-19 would have been heartened because the past nine months have been very dark for everybody on the planet. My question is in regard to the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine, including the logistics, the prioritisation of vulnerable groups, the role GPs will play and the tracking system that will be in place for this logistical and difficult situation.

Deputy Stephen Donnelly

 We can all agree that this is a good week and that last week was a good week in terms of our fight against Covid-19 as we move to prioritisation of vaccines if and when they are approved.

The Government is committed to the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccination programme as soon as suitable products have been authorised and supplies are available. A high-level task force was established to support and oversee the development and implementation of the programme. The task force is working on a national Covid-19 vaccination strategy and implementation plan which I expect to be submitted tomorrow.

Ireland is taking part in a procurement exercise being operated by the European Commission on behalf of member states to procure suitable, safe and effective vaccines in sufficient quantities. Ireland has opted into five advance purchase agreements, APAs, with pharmaceutical companies and a process is in place to opt into a sixth APA. When we start receiving vaccines, we will have to prioritise who will receive them first. Earlier this week, I announced the vaccination allocation strategy for Covid-19 vaccines following sign-off by Cabinet on Tuesday. The strategy prioritises those over the age of 65 living in long-term care facilities, front-line healthcare workers who are in direct patient contact and those aged 70 and over.

The high-level task force is working intensively to ensure that all necessary elements are identified and addressed in the plans for implementation. Its work includes how the vaccine will be administered, by whom and where.  Planning for an ICT system is in train to enable all necessary aspects of an individual’s vaccination history to be recorded. Further details will be included in the national vaccination strategy and implementation plan, once approved by Government.

Deputy Gino Kenny

We all understand that roll-out will be a logistically challenging undertaking for our health service. A tracking system of vaccinations will be important given there will be two vaccines. Solidarity-People Before Profit spoke to a public health doctor recently who told us that they will find this extremely challenging as they are operating at less than one-third of the resources and staff that will be required to roll-out the vaccine. There are enormous challenges in regard to roll-out. There is another challenge, which is the fears people may have about a vaccine. There are people in society who will seek to stoke up that fear. The Minister and the Government need to allay the fear around vaccine safety and roll-out. This will be important because what we do not want is particular elements stoking up fear in regard to the vaccines.

Deputy Stephen Donnelly

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy. A lot of work is ongoing in the Department and across government on a communications plan. We have a very strong record of vaccinations in Ireland. We will roll out a comprehensive plan. It is about listening to people's concerns and taking them seriously. It is also about providing the medical and scientific experts to engage with people and address their concerns.

Ireland has a very good track record. I refer the Deputy to the roll-out of the HPV vaccine, which will save many lives. Ireland had an uptake of 80% of that vaccine. The anti-vaccine movement then rolled into town across Europe and uptake of that vaccine, based largely on misinformation, fell from 80% to 50%. I am delighted that thanks to an enormous effort across Ireland and some notable advocacy, uptake of the HPV vaccine has increased again from 50% to 80%. This will save an awful lot of lives.

Deputy Gino Kenny

To return to the logistics, what provision has been or will be put in place? Various vehicles have been identified for roll-out of the vaccine, including GP surgeries, primary care centres and so on. Britain is providing portable hubs to which people can go to get the vaccine. Is consideration being given to putting in place out-of-hours services in order that GP services are not overrun because that would not be good for anybody? Is consideration being given to portable roll-out of the vaccine over the next three to six months?

The Minister mentioned vulnerable people. Where in that category do healthcare workers come?

Deputy Stephen Donnelly

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy. The prioritisation and implementation strategies announced this week are identified by the task force as living documents because how the vaccines are rolled out and which country gets them and when is dependent on three factors, namely, when the European Medicines Agency, EMA, authorises them, information that is still to come from the regulatory process in terms of which vaccines are most suitable for different people and, in part, the sequence of the vaccines. For example, the first vaccine on which the EMA is likely to make a ruling, probably on 29 December, is the Pfizer vaccine. It has to be stored at -70oC. There are other vaccines, which we hope will be authorised, which are stored at a refrigerated temperature. In the case of the Pfizer vaccine, GP surgeries and pharmacies do not have the necessary type of storage facilities and, therefore, a strategy is being developed to put in place the types of hubs mentioned by the Deputy. There will be distribution from hubs where there is specialist storage. The other vaccines that just need to be refrigerated can be distributed in a different way.

As of now, we have no authorisation on any of the vaccines but the implementation plan being presented tomorrow is an adaptable plan according to the information we get and the sequencing and timing of when the various vaccines are authorised.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Joe Carey)

Question No. 79 in the name of Deputy Cullinane is being taken by Deputy Mark Ward.