Covid Ireland vaccine: supply problems, comparison with other countries and good news

Since the approval of the first Covid-19 vaccines, the Irish launch has been fraught with problems.

Despite the fact that we have had vaccines approved in Europe since December, implementation in the country has been painfully slow.

Ireland is not the only country that is struggling to deliver blows to its citizens; however, there are other nations that have made great strides in their program.

This is where Ireland is right now:

Ireland compared to other nations

To date, Ireland has vaccinated just over 3% of its population.

As of March 6, 523,069 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered in Ireland. 373,149 people have received their first dose, while 149,920 people have received their second dose.

Compared to other EU nations, Ireland is somewhere in the middle, with Germany, France, Italy and Spain leading the way.

However, deployment of the vaccine across the EU has been slow.

Compared to the UK, Ireland is far behind with more than 22 million people receiving their first dose of the vaccine and more than 1 million fully vaccinated.

In the US, 92 million doses of vaccines have also been administered, while in Israel 3.7 million people have been vaccinated out of its population of 9 million.

The challenges

To date, the biggest problem Ireland faces has been supply. Taoiseach Micheal Martin admitted this week that the first quarter of the vaccine launch had been “disappointing.”

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has called AstraZeneca’s ongoing vaccine delivery delays “very frustrating.”

But the minister said the goal of vaccinating more than 80% of adults by June remains intact.

He said: “The repeated reviews of AstraZeneca are very frustrating for Ireland, across the EU.

“It is very important to say that the vaccination program is having an amazing effect on the cohorts where it is administered. In hospital staff, there is a 95% reduction in infections.

“So the good news is that vaccines are incredibly effective.

“HSE’s job is to get the information out to the priority groups as it comes in.”

Speaking to RTE, Minister Donnelly said that the challenge in terms of vaccine procurement has more to do with obtaining the doses.

He added that his department has been talking to other governments and manufacturers, but they have been told that it is simply not the case that there is an oversupply in warehouses that have not been allocated.

Meanwhile, other issues could cause launch to slow down again due to the slow arrival of supplies of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, which is expected to be approved for use in Europe in a few days.

The drug giant has told the European Union that it faces supply problems that may complicate plans to deliver 55 million doses of its vaccine to member states in the second quarter of this year.

HSE chief Paul Reid admitted that the ordered 600,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be delayed, possibly until May or June, and initial supplies will be low.

The Taoiseach also ruled out the possibility of taking any excess vaccines from the UK until their populations are fully inoculated.

The good news

The good news is that the initial vaccines we have already administered are already showing very encouraging signs.

HSE CEO Paul Reid said today that there was evidence that vaccines were already having a massive effect in keeping infections low in healthcare settings.

Mr. Reid said: “So far, big signs of vaccine impacts. Serial testing in nursing homes with 0.2% positivity. Percentages of cases in healthcare workers dropped from 16% to 4 % “.

“Mortality, infection and transmission levels are falling, along with hospitalizations and the ICU.”