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Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that major events including concerts, parties and other “mass gatherings” may not take place next summer and warned ticket buyers that they may not get refunds if an event is not held. performed as it can be reprogrammed.
He also said that the decision on who would be given priority to receive the vaccine was not “rocket science.” He believed that everyone understood that priority would be given to those who needed it most: healthcare workers, nursing home residents, and those who are elderly and chronically ill.
People who worked in high-risk environments, such as meat plants, could also receive priority, he said.
He responded in the Dáil to Labor leader Alan Kelly, who asked about the events for next year that were already being promoted, as he pointed to radio announcements “of a lot of events that are being planned.”
Kelly told the Tánaiste that events were being planned, including the Longitude music festival at Marlay Park in Dublin.
“I’m sure you and I would like to go to the concerts next year,” Kelly said.
He asked Mr Varadkar, as Minister of Enterprise, what advice he had for companies that were “spending a considerable amount of money planning events and whether they should expect them to go ahead.”
The Tánaiste thanked the ticket sales “for some important events that we all hope will take place next summer.”
“The advice I would say is that there is no guarantee that these events will go ahead. We may need some time before we can attend games, concerts, and mass gatherings. I hope it is possible in summer. It’s not at all safe at the moment. “
He added: “Under the law it is possible for companies that organize these events to cancel and reschedule them. They do not have to refund the cost of the tickets. They can reschedule them.
“I think people who buy a ticket should be aware that they are not guaranteed a refund. They may find it reprogrammed. “
Vaccinations
Kelly also raised concerns about the launch of the vaccine and asked who would be the first to receive it once it was approved.
Mr. Varadkar said that the priority of who would get the vaccine first was not, as far as he knew, a matter for the Covid-19 task force but for the National Immunization Advisory Committee (Niac).
“This is the body that makes these kinds of decisions about other vaccines and we expect a report from them very soon on what the order of prioritization will be.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be rocket science,” he said, with healthcare workers, nursing home residents and seniors with chronic conditions first. He suggested that priority could also be given to those working in high-risk environments, such as meat plants.
Mr. Varadkar also insisted that “the government is in control. The Cabinet is in control and makes decisions based on advice ”.
He said Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was the chief minister for the vaccine program, after Kelly said there appeared to be conflicting opinions on the matter.
He noticed Irish Times Report that the Health Minister would bring a memorandum to the government on Tuesday about who would be prioritized, but the Taoiseach had told him that they would have to wait for the task force report three days later.
Mr. Varadkar said the working group, which will report on December 11, is in charge of issues including purchasing, delivery, administration, IT system and communications.
Mr. Varadkar said that the government would have to examine the issue of companies that supply the vaccine privately. He did not believe that companies were doing this as they would not be compensated. And “we certainly do not want them to undermine our vaccination program in any way, which will be free and based on needs.”
He said that it may be the case that the vaccine company that produces it wants to vaccinate its own staff and “we would have to think a lot about preventing them from doing so if they are the ones who developed it.”
He said he did not know, but would examine whether legislation would be needed to establish a database for the vaccine. He will raise it with the Minister of Health, he said.
Vaccinations ‘not rushed’
Meanwhile, Covid-19 vaccines have not been rushed and the science needed to develop them had already existed since the time of Sars and Mers, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
“The corners have not been cut,” said Dr. Margaret Harris.
Regulatory authorities were kept up-to-date during the development process so they could move quickly when viewing the final data, he said.
Surveillance systems will be critical to the vaccination process, Dr. Harris told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. It will be important to monitor that second doses are administered and that any side effects are controlled.
The issue of counterfeit drugs should also be monitored, he warned. There will need to be secure monitoring systems at all levels.
Giving accurate information about the vaccine to the public will be vital, and public health measures will be more important than ever, as the fewer viruses there are in the community, the better the vaccine will work, he said.
WHO’s special envoy for Covid-19, Dr. David Nabarro, told Newstalk Breakfast that the anti-vaccination movement should be considered. “We don’t want to pressure people to do something they don’t want to do. We have to encourage them and make them come to us. Everyone has to be convinced. “
Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) Covid Director Dr Mary Favier told Morning Ireland that communications about the vaccine will be really important. There was great anxiety and excitement about the vaccine and people needed to know all the details, he said. Achieving a 60 percent absorption level, which is necessary for herd immunity, was going to be a significant logistical challenge “but we will.”
Dr Favier said that while it had not yet been decided what role GPs will play in the vaccination program, she believed GPs had a role as they already had experience implementing vaccines, they knew their patients and they had IT systems. to track. “We will be agile and we will be able to respond,” he said.
GPs would also be vital to help determine patients with comorbidities and to ensure that patients are followed up with their second dose of the vaccine.
Dr Favier cautioned that dealing with Covid-19 was like running a marathon and, although a vaccine had been developed, “there is still four to five miles to go.”
Yesterday another five deaths and 270 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the state.
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