28 Jan 2021, 18:53
The Joint Committee on Health will hear from officials from the Health Department, HSE and High-Level Taskforce on Covid-19 Vaccination at a meeting in Leinster House tomorrow, Friday, 29 January.
Professor Brian MacCraith, Chairman of the High-Level Task Force will be among the witnesses appearing before the meeting by video link at 10am.
Chairman of the Committee Seán Crowe TD said: “Vaccines offer hope, for an end to lockdown and hopefully one day an end to this pandemic which has now bereaved more than 3,000 families and caused ill health, fear and disruption for so many across the State. All of us have multiple questions and mounting concerns around the roll-out and the availability of the vaccine. For this programme to work there needs to be buy-in, trust and transparency and sufficient vaccine supply.
“People want and deserve to know the exact details of when the scheme will be available to them and their loved ones. We need greater clarity, straight answers and clear guidance on the roll out including concerns around the speed of the programme, the availability and adequate supply of Covid-19 vaccines to meet the growing demand, the registration process, and in particular, data protection. They are just some of the issues that we want to discuss.
“We need to hear about the communication plan to address concerns some people may have about the efficacy or suitability of vaccines; explaining why the vaccination programme is so necessary, plus the strategy that is in place to fight disinformation surrounding vaccination.”
The meeting is being chaired by Deputy Crowe from Committee Room 2 and as a health precaution Committee members will be joining the meeting by video link from their various offices in the Leinster House complex.
Watch the meeting from Committee Room 2 live.
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Deputies