Covid vaccine could be a ‘wonderful Christmas voucher’ for next year

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that a coronavirus vaccine will not be ready in time for Christmas, but it could be a “wonderful Christmas gift, like a voucher for the next 12 months.”

Talking to Virgin Media NewsMartin said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines could gain clearance from the EU and US regulatory authorities in the second half of December.

He said this would not mean it would be ready in time for Christmas, but that it could be a “wonderful Christmas present, like a voucher for the next 12 months.”

The Taoiseach said a high-level working group would need to be established to “go through the logistics” of distributing the vaccine to people, adding that 70% absorption was needed to achieve herd immunity.

Martin, a former health minister, said there will be a “strong” public information campaign around the vaccine, noting that vaccines have proven to be an important public health measure throughout history to eliminate viruses.

Everything we’ve been doing has been worth it. Everything we have been doing in terms of personal sacrifices and it has been very difficult for people.

“Vaccines give us hope. And it also allows us to say, ‘let’s double down’. Let’s just not lose a beat in the last ten minutes of this and give everything we have to keep the virus under pressure. “

Christmas

Micheál Martin said his goal is to have a “safe and meaningful Christmas,” so there will be no crowds or gatherings in pubs.

When asked if people would be allowed to travel and reunite with their families at Christmas, Martin said he did not want to get ahead of a government decision and would like to see the number of Covid-19 cases by the end of the month.

When asked when people will travel abroad for Christmas, Micheál Martin said that many people have decided not to fly home for Christmas, but that a decision will be made at the end of the month.

Other government figures have indicated that this will be released by the end of next week.