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A leading medical expert has assured people that the Covid-19 vaccines were not rushed.
But it comes with a caveat that all public health measures must still be followed for the vaccine to work effectively in the community.
The news is the continuation of Taoiseach Micheal Martin confirming that the government would bear the cost of launching the vaccine, which means that it will be free to the public.
Speaking about making the breakthrough doses, Dr. Margaret Harris of the World Health Organization said: “It wasn’t rushed because the science that was really needed had been done before this outbreak.”
“Much of the knowledge came from SARS and MERS, so as a career, we are actually getting pretty good at making the most of what we are learning.
“As for the regulators, they too have been doing the work before seeing the final data, so they were ready to review it very quickly.
“So all the things that take a long time in normal times because they have to have meetings scheduled two months in advance, and some things that are done more slowly have been sped up, but they haven’t cut corners.”
Speaking about the storage of vaccines, which must be kept at a temperature of -79 ° C, Dr. Harris added: “This is something that we have experience in the world, because of the Ebola vaccine that we have used in conflict zones and some very very difficult parts of the DRC and New Guinea and Sierra Leone, that is one that also has to be stored at -79C and I can tell you as someone who has done it myself that it is not easy .
“But you can do it and you can configure that chain and make it work.”
And he cautioned that despite significant positive news that vaccines will be available in the new year, Dr. Harris said public health measures must be followed to ensure it works effectively.
She told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “You have your doctors, then the people who rush and want it at all costs, and also those who don’t understand that most of them will be a two-dose regimen.
“It’s not like: ‘Oh, I have the vaccine, everything is fine.’ No. What matters is what is happening in your body. Do you have the antibodies that protect you from the virus? We know you need the second dose in many of these regimes to guarantee that protection.
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“At all levels, it is very important now that we get that information and make sure that your listeners have all the information they need, to do everything they need to protect their health.
“And the last thing I would say is that we have to continue with public health measures. The less virus there is in the community, the more effective the vaccine will be.”
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly have pledged to cover the cost of life-saving vaccines when they are implemented.
Martin was speaking at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday night when he confirmed that a free program is planned.
Donnelly indicated the same in an Oireachtas health committee earlier in the day, but stopped short of declaring they would be free, because it has not yet been approved by the Cabinet.
Donnelly said, “We can’t have any situation where there might be an issue of access being an issue because of affordability.”
However, Mr Martin went further in the private Fianna Fáil meeting when questioned by his own TDs, senators and MEPs when he said that “there would be no cost for vaccines”.
It is estimated that the cost of the first wave of vaccinations will cost the Treasury in the region of 200 million euros.
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