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Just over half of people say they would receive a Covid-19 vaccine, a new survey reveals.
The government can face a battle to ensure high acceptance by the people if a jab gets official approval.
But it happens when Tánaiste Leo Varadkar revealed that he and the government were optimistic about launching a vaccine early next year.
A survey released today found that 55 percent would receive the Covid-19 vaccine if one was available. A third were unsure and 12pc would reject it.
The findings came in the first wave of the Ipsos MRBI IPHA Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker, a monthly barometer of the public’s likelihood of getting vaccinated against Covid-19 in the event of a breakthrough.
It was commissioned by the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA), which represents big pharmaceutical companies and comes amid growing optimism that the first Covid-19 vaccine could be here by the end of the year.
Mr Varadkar said yesterday: “In terms of the vaccine, I am increasingly optimistic, as is the Government, that we will see a vaccine approved in the coming months and that in the first half, if not the first quarter, of next year, it will be possible to start vaccinating those most at risk, health workers and people with chronic diseases. “
He told RTÉ that his hopes are based on the information provided to the Government by different companies and on the advice of the WHO.
However, the survey results assured that older people, a group in the risk category who are likely to be among the first to receive a vaccine, are the most receptive to receiving the vaccine.
The age group most likely to receive the vaccine were those over 65, followed by people between the ages of 35 and 44.
The youngest people were the least likely to get the vaccine, with 19% of people between 25 and 34 years old, and 18% of those between 18 and 24 years old saying they would not take it. About 60% of men would take it, as would half of women. The Irish Independent reported over the weekend that Pfizer will submit its vaccine for emergency approval next month and, if given the green light, it could have 100 million doses ready to roll out before the end of 2020.
Assuming there is an agreement with the EU for the purchase of the vaccine, Ireland would be allocated a population-based share to allow offering the two-dose vaccine to risk groups, including healthcare workers, the elderly and people with underlying diseases. .
Paul Reid, Managing Director of Pfizer Ireland and Chairman of IPHA, said: “Vaccine development is based on sound science, patient safety and clinical efficacy.
“Teams of scientists are collaborating across disciplines and territories, and between research agencies and companies, to find a breakthrough for Covid-19. Immunization is a global health and development success story, saving millions of lives every year.
“We now have vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages to live longer, healthier lives.”
Cases
No new deaths from the virus were reported yesterday, but the number of new cases rose again to 1,025 after falling through Friday and Saturday.
Yesterday’s cases included 255 in Dublin, 147 in Cork, 77 in Galway, 54 in Kildare and 53 in Donegal. The remaining 439 cases are spread across 21 counties.
At 2:00 p.m. yesterday, 315 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized, of which 38 were in intensive care. There were 16 additional hospitalizations during the previous 24 hours. Medical Director Tony Holohan again appealed to people who are positive or have symptoms to self-isolate for 10 days.
Meanwhile, HSE has confirmed that it has ordered nearly € 7.5 million worth of ViraPro hand sanitizer recalled.
On Friday, the Department of Agriculture issued a recall of products from the ViraPro line of hand sanitizers.
An HSE spokeswoman said HSE had received 3,128,876 units to date.
He said 2,092,398 units had been quarantined, which meant 1,036,074 units had been shipped to health services locations.
“The HSE product recall team has not been notified of any adverse effects from using the product,” he said.
Irish independent
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