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Ireland will receive a “large volume” of AstraZeneca vaccines in the coming weeks, the Irish president of the pharmaceutical company said, after weeks of criticism about the impact of its unreliable deliveries on the state’s vaccine rollout.
In an interview with The Irish Times, Dan Wygal declined to apologize for the huge deficit in AstraZeneca shipments to Ireland, but said he felt “very responsible” to do everything possible to improve the situation.
Ireland was estimated to have received 827,000 doses of AstraZeneca in the first quarter based on advance purchase agreements, but only 228,000 arrived.
Wygal, who took over three weeks ago, said that “in the coming weeks we will have some of the largest shipments ever shipped to Ireland” as the company is overcoming some manufacturing issues it has encountered.
A shipment of more than 100,000 doses, the largest yet, is expected to arrive next week, although he declined to cite “absolute numbers” for the next few weeks.
The vaccination launch was hit by new controversy on Friday when it emerged that teachers at a paying school in Bray and childcare staff were given spare blows at the private Beacon hospital in South Dublin ahead of their place at the official time.
Beacon CEO Michael Cullen, whose children attend the school, apologized and acknowledged that the practice was “not in line” with HSE sequencing guidelines.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said there was “absolutely no defense” for what had happened.
An HSE officer will be tasked with ensuring that the hospital program adheres to the prioritization rules in the future.
Cabinet decisions
Meanwhile, key Cabinet decisions on Tuesday on easing restrictions from April 5 are expected to hit the wire amid fears that the B117 variant could trigger a fourth wave. The number of cases remains relatively stable, and the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) reported 20 deaths and 584 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday.
Before the Cabinet meeting, there is widespread agreement among Ministers that the 5km travel restriction will be relaxed and non-contact sports training will be allowed for young people.
The Department of Education said on Friday that second-grade students would return to school as planned starting April 12. HSE Executive Director Paul Reid said play dates and home visits were driving greater transmission among children rather than school attendance.
Concerned that a possible increase in the number of cases would be reflected in a reproduction rate of between 1 and 1.3 cases per infection, government sources expressed caution regarding the relaxation of the restrictions.
The construction reopening appears scheduled to be gradual, with one source saying “there would be major mobility problems if we allowed the 110,000 construction workers to get back together.”
It is expected that initially priority will be given to the housing construction sector.
The ministers warned that much of what is announced next week will depend on data for the next few days. Some anticipate higher numbers due to increased testing and increased referrals from GPs.
Walk-in centers
Preliminary numbers from the first day of the Covid-19 test of symptom-free people at the five HSE walk-in care centers showed a positivity rate of between 1% and 2% in more than 1,700 swabs taken Thursday.
The positivity rate was highest, more than 2 percent, in emerging centers in Blanchardstown, Dublin and Tullamore, Co Offaly, two of the five infection hotspots targeted by the HSE, which plans to open walk-ins. in other high-level centers. -Zones of infection.
The number of attendees at the centers increased by about a quarter on Friday.
“It shows that there are cases there that we wouldn’t have found otherwise,” said Niamh O’Beirne, HSE’s national test and trace leader.
She said the areas “are showing higher positivity rates than in our other serial tests,” a reference to frequent tests in meat plants, mental health and disabled facilities and nursing homes.
Nphet is likely to warn the government on Monday that the Covid-19 situation remains volatile. High-level public health sources warned on Friday that if the government “does something in April that triggers a wave, they have a disaster on their hands; if it is delayed until May or June it is a completely different risk profile ”.
Ministers are expected to push for greater clarity on medium-term plans to ease restrictions. “We have to give some indication of what is possible,” said a Cabinet source, “We have to give an indication of a broader reopening towards the end of May.
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