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Doctors say they are increasingly frustrated by the “delay and confusion” about their role in the state’s Covid vaccination plan.
Irish Medical Organization (IMO) GP chairman Dr Denis McCauley said there was a lack of clarity on the role that family doctors should play.
GPs want to play a role, but “the longer our enthusiasm remains, the more frustration will really develop,” he said.
The Covid vaccine task force was expected to issue its plan to the government last night.
The report is expected to recommend that all healthcare workers, including GPs, nurses, and pharmacists, help manage the vaccine program, while sources indicated that recently retired qualified individuals could be re-employed.
Securing volumes, managing vaccine delivery and timing of regulatory approval will be key milestones, with no expectations of significant volumes of vaccine being delivered this year, even if regulatory approval comes before December 29.
The HSE is already in negotiations with GP groups on winter planning and specific Covid issues.
An implementation group focused on the launch was supposed to have its first meeting on Monday “but that seems to have stalled,” said Dr. McAuley.
He expressed concern about the development of software used to track the vaccination program. “If they’re going to develop completely new software, hopefully there won’t be a ‘Northside Luas / Southside Luas’ moment where they say the tracks are not the same.”
Union of pharmacies
The Irish Union of Pharmacies (IPU) also urged the HSE to participate in plans to implement the vaccine. “The campaign cannot be successful unless the HSE sits down and talks to us about how it will work,” said Darragh O’Loughlin, IPU Secretary General.
“What we don’t want is a repeat of what happened with the flu vaccine, where people made appointments and when they arrived there was no vaccine available because the administration system had failed them.”
Government sources said that all categories of healthcare professionals were expected to play a role in the program.
An HSE spokeswoman said she was “at a delicate point in what have been complex negotiations” and declined to comment. He said the HSE had worked well with GPs and pharmacists during the pandemic and their contribution had been “essential.”
“We hope that this collaboration will continue and that we will achieve a successful outcome in these deliberations.”
The expectation on Friday was that both mass vaccination centers and the network of GPs and pharmacists would be used, while the Government has asked assurances from the pharmaceutical companies that make the vaccine that they are considering a Brexit without a trade agreement. .
It comes after Sanofi and GlaxoSmithCline confirmed disappointing results for a Covid vaccine, which showed an insufficient immune response.
Garda security
Meanwhile, the senior gardaí is in consultation with the government’s Covid-19 task force to provide security for vaccine delivery next month. The discussions follow warnings from Europol and Interpol that the shipments are potential targets for organized criminals who will try to sell them on the black market.
No final decision has been made on the scope and nature of the warranty. It is likely to include physical escorts and the use of intelligence sources to determine threats. It is understood that to date no credible threat to vaccine shipments has been identified, although there is evidence of attempts by foreign adversaries to attempt to hack into the “cold chain” systems necessary to store the vaccine.
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