Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2021
760. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the basis of assessing a person as being fully vaccinated regarding the vaccine bonus four weeks after the first dose of a vaccine (details supplied); the incentive to return for the second dose if a person is deemed fully vaccinated after one dose; and the implications of not receiving the second dose. [24024/21]
View answer761. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the basis of assessing a person as fully vaccinated regarding the vaccine bonus one week after the second dose of a vaccine (details supplied) when it has been reported that it has an efficacy of 69% after 21 to 44 days of one dose rising to 96% after the second dose. [24025/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 760 and 761 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, as part of the easing of public health restrictions on the 10 May, people that have been vaccinated are being advised that they can meet up with others in a private home setting under certain conditions. This ‘vaccine bonus’ is in recognition of the protection provided by vaccination and to enable those that have that protection to start meeting family and friends again.
It is important however to be really clear on the difference between being fully vaccinated and being able to avail of the vaccine bonus.
On the basis of clinical trials, a person is considered fully vaccinated 7 days after receipt of the second Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech) dose, 14 days after receipt of the second Moderna dose; 15 days after receipt of the second Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) dose, and 14 days after the single dose of Janssen. It is essential that all individuals receive a full course of vaccination, as per the vaccination schedule if they are to be fully protected.
All clinical trials for both Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech) and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) are based on a two-dose schedule and therefore it is not clear how long someone’s immunity will last when only getting one shot versus two. Booster shots, in general, allow our immune system to retain memory or knowledge of a virus for a longer period of time. In the case of both vaccines, there is an increase in efficacy following the second dose. In the case of Vaxzevria, the efficacy rate rose from approximately 76% to 82.4% when there was at least a 12-week interval before the second dose. In relation to Comirnaty, data shows single-dose effectiveness of this vaccine is between 60% and 70%, rising to 95% one week after receipt of the second dose.
Current public health advice is that, in general, a person can avail of the vaccine bonus if they are fully vaccinated in line with the above timelines. However, in recognition that the efficacy is equivalent to that of one dose of COVID-19 vaccine Janssen, the public health advice is that a person can avail of the vaccine bonus (as distinct from being fully vaccinated) four weeks after receiving a first dose of Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca). However, as set out above, it is essential that they receive a second dose of the vaccine to ensure full protection.
