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The vaccines could be available to Irish residents early in the New Year, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said on Sunday.
Ahead of a state vaccination task force meeting on Monday, Donnelly said in terms of implementation: “I would say December is unlikely to be honest with you, but very soon,” adding that faster implementation of the vaccines compared to previous projections was “very comforting”.
When asked when the first vaccines could be administered, if they received regulatory approval, Donnelly said that the BioNtech-Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines that Ireland has signed to advance purchase agreements are seeking market authorization in “the next few weeks.”
The minister said there has been no conversation at the government level about the mandatory nature of the vaccine. “My preference is for it to be voluntary.”
He said that while there is an anti-vaccination movement that has fostered misinformation, “I think the vast majority of people see that for what it is, and I think people are quite willing to take the vaccine when it comes out,” he told Newstalk’s On The Record Show with Gavan Reilly.
Donnelly also confirmed that the state had compensated the pharmaceutical companies for any liability arising from complications with the vaccine.
The new high-level government committee to handle the implementation of Covid-19 vaccines will be chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith from DCU. A vaccine strategy is expected to be completed on December 11.
The state will receive approximately 1 percent of the vaccines available through the EU’s collective purchasing scheme. The EU will buy approximately 300 million units of vaccine.
Also on the vaccine committee is HSE CEO Paul Reid, Covid-19 Senior Official Group Chair Liz Canavan, Government Chief Information Officer Barry Lowry, and Government Procurement Director, Paul Quinn.
The group will also include a cold chain logistics expert and a project management expert.
The EU has agreed to purchase up to 300 million doses of the innovative coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. Pfizer said deliveries were expected to begin at the end of the year, subject to the vaccine receiving regulatory approval from the European Medicines Agency.
In a tweet on Sunday, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris called for cross-party cooperation to support vaccination. “This is not a political party point. Good people everywhere and we will all need to work together to get the message across. We’ve done it before on big issues. “
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