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Deputy Medical Director Dr. Ronan Glynn has acted to reassure people about the speed at which vaccines for Covid-19 have been developed.
In a statement of opinion published by the Department of Health, Dr. Glynn explains the reasons why the usual timeframe for vaccine development was reduced.
And he urged people to stand firm and continue their collective efforts in the months ahead.
Dr. Ronan Glynn said that none of the factors that had influenced the rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines implied that shortcuts had been taken or that safety, scientific integrity or ethics had been compromised.
The deputy CMO said there have been enormous levels of investment, as well as scientific and medical research on a scale “never seen before in vaccine development.”
He said that due to the large number of new cases around the world, vaccine trials were able to quickly measure the differences between those who received the vaccine and those who received the placebo.
Finally, he said that many of the processes that normally take place consecutively in the development of a vaccine have been running in parallel.
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He said that people should be greatly encouraged by these developments, but there are still many barriers to overcome.
People must be willing to get vaccinated, he said, and transparency and trust must be the cornerstone of the approach taken by health authorities.
Dr. Glynn’s statement came as Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan warned that he was concerned that the incidence of Covid-19 was increasing again.
429 new cases were announced yesterday, 122 of them in Dublin.
One more death was also reported to the Health Department, bringing the total number of deaths to 2,124 with 76,185 confirmed cases.
Dr. Holohan said that now is the time for people to cut back on their social contacts “so we can all have the safest Christmas possible.”
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