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The supply and availability of the Covid-19 vaccine will be the main cause of delays in Ireland’s launch, an immunology expert said.
The professor of experimental immunology at Trinity College Dublin, Kingston Mills, said that Pfizer does not have enough power for everyone and is increasing manufacturing to meet the needs of countries.
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Ireland’s first doses of the jab will be administered this week in four hospitals, and then roll out in nursing homes.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has predicted that Ireland will see up to 20,000 people vaccinated a week from the beginning of January.
Professor Mills said that supply and dose availability will be the biggest challenge in Ireland’s deployment.
It’s not enough to turn around
Speaking about the Newstalk brunch with Mark Cagney, Professor Mills said: “I think what is going to delay the launch is the supply and availability of the vaccine.
“We currently have a fairly small number of doses, only 10,000, so we are going to get over that pretty quickly.
“So the delay in entering health workers and nursing homes is the supply.
“Pfizer just doesn’t have enough of this vaccine for all the countries that still want it.
“They are going to get manufacturing up and running now and hopefully that will be resolved in the weeks and months to come.”
‘TRANSPARENCY IS KEY’
According to Professor Mills, transparency is key in the vaccine list to ensure successful acceptance.
He said: “There are huge benefits which is the thing to say with these vaccines.
“90 percent of people, 95 percent in Pfizer cases, will not get Covid if they get vaccinated. That’s what clinical trials show, so it’s a huge, huge benefit.
“There were some side effects. People had some reactions at the injection site; some people have a mild fever. These are all transient events that are often associated with vaccination.
“They need to be explained to the public and transparency is key to all of this.
“Make sure everyone is aware of any potential problems and then if people have a mild reaction, they will know that that was common enough based on the clinical trial and shouldn’t be a problem.”
RESTRICTIONS HERE TO STAY
Meanwhile, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has said that the Covid-19 restrictions for the next few weeks must be “sustainable” and may be in place for a “long period”.
The Fine Gael leader explained that the availability of the vaccine has “changed things” when it comes to the reopening of the country.
And he said the restrictions should be in place until the vulnerable are vaccinated.
Varadkar told RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland: “The availability of the vaccine changes things now.
SUSTAINABLE MEASURES
“In fact, we can now foresee when we will have vaccinated those most at risk, the very old, people in nursing homes and health workers.
“I think there are reasons to say that the current restrictions should remain in place until they are done.
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“But that also needs to be reflected in the kind of restrictions we put in place because they need to be sustainable over a long period of time.
“It’s not just for three or four weeks.”
Varadkar said the Cabinet plans to review the restrictions on January 12 and that has not changed.
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