Taoiseach shares optimistic views about Covid-19 vaccine

Taoiseach Michael Martin said the Irish Vaccine Task Force has a strategy to deliver the injections in just two and a half weeks.

Recently there has been positive news all over with regards to the arrival of a good vaccine.

It was on this Monday, reports came as that the vaccines of pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and scientists from Oxford University is, on average, 70% effective in fighting COVID-19.

Scientists and researchers have also found that the effectiveness of the vaccine has risen to 90% when a half dose was given to subjects, followed by a full dose.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin, said that the Chairman of the Government’s vaccine taskforce, Professor Briain McCraith, will draft a plan accordingly to roll out the vaccine as soon as December 11.

Which means that more details about the vaccine distribution will be revealed in just some weeks’ time.

The Fianna Fail leader also told journalists that there will be a ‘national effort’ to get vaccines out ‘safely and properly’.

Micheal Martin has been very optimistic and positive with regards to the arrival of the vaccine during recent weeks itself. While addressing a media last Friday, he said that the vaccine will hit the country during late December.

‘The European President of the Commission is now saying that it could be the second half of December that they will get authorisation — Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna — which could mean for the early part of 2021 we’re in a position to start procuring the vaccine.’ He said.

He also added that he had set up a high-level task force to go through the logistics of this because this will be a very big operation logistically in the country.

‘It could change the situation significantly for the better.’ He said

‘It would be a wonderful Christmas present in the sense of the voucher for the next 12 months.’ Martin concluded.