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Updated 1 hour ago
VACCINES ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED and administered “as soon as they arrive,” Minister Simon Harris said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, the Minister of Continuing and Higher Education said that 95% of people over the age of 85 have received their first injection of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Vaccine supply problems have resulted in the originally set targets not being met.
Harris said, “I really think the months of April, May and June will see a massive increase.”
The minister said the government should consider asking the UK for replacement vaccine doses and said: “I think this is absolutely something we should be looking at.”
Later, speaking to reporters, Harris said that Ireland “will continue to search everywhere and anywhere” for additional vaccine supplies, as countries can even within the EU system.
“The government is sometimes between a rock and a hard place on this issue.
“The government says in good faith that the HSE intends to vaccinate x number of people. Then all of a sudden you discover that an order for vaccines doesn’t arrive on short notice.
“I personally believe that the best approach the government can take is to continue to proactively share all the information we have with the people. I think it is better to publish the objectives with the proviso that things are ready for delivery, “he said.
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine could be approved by the European Medicines Agency this week, Harris said, noting that the single pin prick could prove vital to speeding up the launch of the vaccine.
The minister’s comments came after the latest HSE figures showed the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 increased slightly over the weekend.
As of 8 p.m. Friday night, there were 401 patients in the hospital with Covid-19. At 8pm last night, there were 420 people in the hospital with Covid-19.
This included 103 people who received care in an ICU.
This week will also see the first Covid-19 vaccines among medically vulnerable people who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill from the disease.
About 10,000 people in this fourth cohort will take a hit this week.
Harris said today: “We also have to be very honest here. In fairness to the HSE and our GPs, they are getting the vaccines out as fast as they come in. “
He said the expected approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine later this week, with Ireland already ordering more than 2 million doses, will be another positive step.
“We are going to see a very significant increase in our vaccine program in the coming weeks,” said the minister.
Harris also added that a “huge body of work” was underway throughout the government to introduce mandatory quarantine for arrivals from some countries, after President Michael D Higgins signed the legislation into law over the weekend. .
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“I think you will see a joint effort from the government and the service providers,” he said.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said yesterday that the government’s next step was to sign a contract with a service provider and that this would happen “shortly.”
Speaking earlier on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Brigadier General Brendan McGuinness said the Defense Forces would work closely with all agencies as they supported the mandatory quarantine program.
“The Defense Forces will move between all the agents, between people who have prescribed roles at the airport,” he said. “We will commit to them, we will commit to the company that transports the passengers and we will commit to the company that accommodates the passengers and, of course, also with safety.
“We will have that monitoring and connecting function between all those services to make sure that hopefully the scheme runs smoothly.”
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