Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 November 2021
343. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 832 of 19 October 2021, if he will provide as had been requested the number of Covid-19 vaccines that have been procured for Ireland including both vaccines administered and vaccines available for administration; the number procured by vaccine type, that is, manufacturing company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56815/21]
View answerIreland has entered into seven Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs), subject to regulatory approval, for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccine from a range of manufacturers. Four vaccines have been authorised by the European Medicines Agency to date; Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Spikevax (Moderna), Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) and Janssen.
As of 15 November, over 7.7 million doses of the four approved vaccines have been administered since the programme commenced in December, including more than 340,000 booster doses administered to date. More than 92.% of the eligible population have now received a vaccine dose with in excess of 90% having been fully vaccinated.
The table beneath provides an overview of the quantity of vaccines by manufacturer administered in the vaccination programme.
Overview of Covid-19 Vaccine Administered by Supplier (In Millions) as of 15 November.
|
Vaccine |
Doses Administered |
|
Pfizer/BioNTech |
5.4 |
|
Moderna |
0.57 |
|
AstraZeneca |
1.2 |
|
Janssen |
.23 |
|
Total |
7.4 |
The procurement approach taken by the EU, on behalf of Member States, is to ensure that Member States have access to sufficient quantities of safe and efficacious vaccines across a range of technologies. Participation in the EU procurement process has served to ensure that Ireland has adequate supply of vaccines to meet the needs of its national programme including the rollout of booster doses. From the range of contracts that Ireland has entered into, some of the vaccines have yet to be granted regulatory approval, and final dose quantities and delivery schedules for these have yet to be confirmed. Ireland's existing contractual commitments for currently authorised vaccines are being used and will underpin the continued rollout of the booster programme over the coming months.
