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Leo Varadkar has warned his colleagues that the vaccine will not allow people to “roam free” and that certain restrictions could remain in place for another six months.
The Tanáiste made the comments at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday night, saying the current increase in Covid cases is a “cause for concern.”
He said that social distancing, the use of masks and restrictions on gatherings will accompany us “in some form” for perhaps up to six months.
But he said the government would no longer impose stricter restrictions on this side of Christmas.
However, he said there is a provision for a cabinet meeting next week and another between Christmas and New Years in which the Covid situation will be monitored.
Sources said Varadkar warned that there will be “limited availability” of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine once it is initially approved, but then the country could find itself in a position where more vaccines are approved by March or April.
Sources said that Varadkar counted how the five- and seven-day average regarding Covid cases is slowly increasing, but not in the exponential growth stage.
But if that happens, the government will have to act.
Mr. Varadkar said that the growth of the disease, especially in homes, was a “cause for concern” as we entered the Christmas period.
He said that the situation in Northern Ireland was dire and that if help was sought from the North, it would be provided.
However, this would be communicated to both CMOs and governments, and had not yet reached a point where it was necessary.
Sources said Varadkar said it will be the second quarter of 2021 when people start to see the differences with the launch of the vaccine.
He said vaccines should be given in two doses each one month apart and that only after the second shot will people begin to see benefits.
Varadkar said it will be “well into March or April” before a critical mass of people have received the two doses.
Sources said that Tanáiste said that the first three months of next year will be “difficult” and that the public will have to be prepared for that.
He said it is not yet known if the vaccine makes him “non-infectious” and if he can still transmit the disease to other people despite having the vaccine.
He said this means that the vaccine “is not a passport to roam free, far from it.”
He said that social distancing, the use of masks and restrictions on gatherings will accompany us “in some form” for perhaps up to six months.
He added that he was optimistic about the spring and summer months as he believes a critical mass of people will be vaccinated by then and said that the coronavirus is seasonal and the numbers are expected to decline during that time.
He told party members that initially the availability of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine will be limited, as once approved, Pfizer will have to manufacture for the world and “can only increase up to a point.”
The sources said the Tanáiste said it could be the case that the country is in a situation where other vaccines are approved in March or April, but there may not be as many people on site to administer the vaccines, adding that many of these factors ”. they are out of our control. “
Meanwhile, two DTs from Fine Gael also asked the Tanáiste if it would consider administering the vaccine to Taoiseach Micheál Martin since he was trained as a doctor, however, the Tanáiste did not respond to the request.
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