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Updated 1 hour ago
THE FIRST DELIVERY of a Covid-19 vaccine has arrived in the country today, and vaccinations will begin next week.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has confirmed that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has arrived in Ireland ahead of the next vaccines.
“When is it worth photographing a refrigerator? When you just received the first #Covid shots from Ireland. The first doses have just arrived and a lot of them are in that very, very cold fridge, ”Donnelly wrote on Twitter.
“We will start vaccinating in four days. #holdfirm, ”he said.
The cabinet was informed earlier this week that around 10,000 doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine would be delivered to Ireland after Christmas following formal authorization of the vaccine by the European Commission.
The HSE has confirmed TheJournal.ie 9,750 vaccines were scheduled to arrive today.
Tens of thousands more doses are expected to arrive in the country in early January.
Vaccine task force chair Brian MacCraith said the arrival marked a “new dawn of hope” in the fight against Covid-19.
“After a truly horrible year, the arrival of vaccines today represents a bright new dawn of hope. Vaccination is a gateway to opportunity for the Irish to protect themselves against this terrible virus, ”said MacCraith.
“Initial delivery (same across EU 27) is now at -71 degrees C.”
The vaccine, which must be kept at -70 degrees Celsius, requires a specialized storage infrastructure.
Nine ultra-low temperature coolers were delivered to Ireland earlier this month and stored at Citywest prior to the vaccine.
Earlier today, HSE CEO Paul Reid announced that he was accepting a delivery of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine today for HSE.
“An early morning start to a momentous day. Departing to receive the first delivery of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine for HSE, ”said Reid.
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Better days are sure to come. For now, #StaySafe, ”he said.
Long-term care facility residents over the age of 65 and front-line healthcare workers in direct contact with patients are the first to be vaccinated.
Under the plan for launching the vaccine, people aged 85 and over and those aged 70 and over will be next to receive the vaccine, followed by other healthcare workers and people aged 65 to 69.
Nursing home residents should receive their two doses of the vaccine “sometime in February,” according to Donnelly.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the country is “mobilizing an unprecedented national effort” to launch the vaccine.
“Vaccinating millions of people will take time, and in the meantime we have to be very vigilant,” Martin said.
“We cannot go faster than the supply of the vaccines and the dosing schedule required to be effective allows us.”
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