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The European Commission is due to finalize a contract for up to 300 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech that was recently shown to be effective in an initial trial on Wednesday.
The EU has already signed similar contracts for different vaccines being developed by pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK and Johnson & Johnson.
How were the vaccines selected?
The EU’s strategy was to sign advance delivery orders for promising vaccines, in order to finance their rapid development and manufacture, and to ensure that Europe would get the fastest possible doses of any vaccine that is eventually approved for use.
There are dozens of vaccines in development around the world, but so far these four have been selected as the most likely to be successful, based on factors such as the robustness of the scientific approach and the likely speed of delivery to scale.
How many doses would Ireland receive?
Under the agreement, all EU member states would receive the first vaccines simultaneously and doses would be assigned according to population size.
Ireland accounts for roughly 1.01 percent of the EU population, so it would be ready to receive roughly 3,030,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, if finally approved and all 300 million doses ordered.
The Pfizer vaccine is a two-dose treatment, so it would be enough to inoculate 1,515,000 people.
But isn’t that enough for everyone?
It is up to the member states to decide who should be the first to receive the vaccine. The European Commission has suggested giving priority to people such as: workers in medical and long-term care facilities; People over 60 years; people with health conditions that make them high risk; essential workers; people who cannot distance themselves socially; and most socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.
The doses would come in batches rather than all at once, so the government would have to decide who to vaccinate first.
Anything else to keep in mind?
The Government has a great job ahead of it in the administration of any vaccine. Pfizer doses should be stored at approximately minus 75 degrees Celsius, which requires cold storage facilities and supply chains.
In addition, it must be managed by a trained workforce, who will need protective equipment. The government would also have to explain to the public that it is important and safe to get vaccinated.
A recent survey found that 33 percent of people in Ireland were unsure whether they would take the Covid-19 vaccine and 12 percent said they would not.
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