Vaccine for everyone in Ireland within nine months; Indication that the target is the mass campaign model… Government announcement on tomorrow

DUBLIN: A comprehensive plan is being prepared to supply the COVID-19 vaccine to all. The government has received an action plan to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to all sections of the people in the country within nine months. All preparations for the vaccination have been completed by the concerned parties as soon as the Cabinet decision on this is taken. Indications are that the services of retired GPs and nurses may also be considered.

Health care staff and nursing home staff will be vaccinated by the end of February, the GP chairman of the Irish Medical Organization said. But GPs and pharmacists may be forced to wait for the modern vaccine, Dr. Denis McCauley warned. All people can be vaccinated within six to nine months. Efforts are also being made to bring retired health workers into the vaccination program.

Dr. McCauley said the first two vaccine allocations, including those for nursing home patients and health workers, will be completed before March. “So the first 200,000 doses or so that comes in will go to them first. It all depends on how consistent the supply is after that. He further explained that: “It is stored at -70°C. When they thaw it out it can stay in a fridge for five days. So it’s a question of how far can we spread it away from the central source before it starts not working.”

“If the supply is consistent, I’d imagine nursing homes and healthcare workers will be sorted by the end of February. Then the other groups will depend on how the Pfizer vaccine deals with manual handling.

“Pharmacist would most likely have to wait for the Moderna vaccine because of the model they typically use for vaccines. If GPs knew that 400 vaccines were coming on Tuesday morning, we would have them finished the Tuesday night.

“So, if the if the Pfizer vaccine is transportable, to any great extent, doctors will have targeted mass vaccine clinics of the targeted groups. Some very big pharmacists could perhaps do this as well but it generally isn’t a model they use,” he added.

Recalling of retired health officers

Independent TD Denis Naughten has called on the government to recall retired health officials to help provide the vaccine. HSE is unable to utilize retired officers for some reason. In this case, the government should take action to ensure their services. He also suggested that clear instructions be given to HSE in this regard.

Government vaccine program plan on Tuesday

The government is expected to announce the vaccine program plan on Tuesday. Only then will the role of doctors, pharmacists and public health nurses in vaccination become clear. GPs will need to be more involved in vaccinating in clinics, schools and workplaces, said Dr Nuala O’Connor.

She added that all those trained in the country and licensed to administer intermuscular injections would have to be contacted for this vaccination. GPs and peer-nurse vaccinators may need to visit the nursing home for vaccination. There are vaccination teams for the school. GPs and pharmacists work together to vaccinate healthy people. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will arrive in Ireland in seven to ten days after being approved by the European Medicines Agency.

Lack of a national database

Another barrier to vaccination is the lack of a national database on it. GPs and pharmacists have a problem with not being able to tell if someone has already had the vaccine or any doses of it. HSE chief Paul Reid said a new system needs to be created to allow people to register themselves online to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and to monitor and track immunizations.