Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
1838. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health his views on a vaccine (details supplied); if the G7 countries are supporting the manufacturing of this vaccine which has the potential to produce vaccines for sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia and Latin America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2033/22]
View answerIreland is participating 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, to combat COVID-19. Ireland has entered into seven Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs), subject to regulatory approval, for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccine from a range of manufacturers.
Five vaccines have been authorised by the EU to date; Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), Spikevax (Moderna), Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca), Janssen and NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax). Under the provisions negotiated by the European Commission, the Covid-19 vaccines are used once they comply with all the requirements of quality, safety and efficacy set out in the EU pharmaceutical legislation. No vaccine will be used until market authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is obtained and any authorised vaccine will be subject to ongoing monitoring in Ireland by the Health Product Regulatory Authority (HPRA). The purpose of any medicines regulatory regime, be it at a national or centralised level, is to protect patient and public health through the operation of structured, consistent evaluation system which assures patient trust and confidence in the therapeutics utilised. The vaccine referred to be the Deputy has not been the subject of an application to the EMA for market authorisation.
In terms of vaccine distribution to countries outside the EU, universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines is a priority for the EU and for Ireland. Ireland concurs with the position statement of the G7 Ministers of 16 December 2021, where they reiterated their continuous support for COVAX, their commitment to the global effort on vaccine rollout and their support for accelerated development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in pandemics. The COVAX donation mechanism represents the most appropriate opportunity to distribute vaccines quickly and fairly to those who need them most. In this regard, the European Union committed to donate 250 million doses to low and middle-income countries in 2021, with 380 million doses ultimately donated and more than 255 million of these doses already delivered to recipient countries.
