Vaccinators will travel to the homes of people unable to make it to Covid-19 vaccination centres if “absolutely necessary” to administer the doses, the HSE has said.
Concern was expressed by a Donegal GP that those not able to leave their homes could go without receiving the jab.
Dr Eoin Dunphy says that a vulnerable group, those unable to leave their homes, were in danger of being ‘failed by the State’.
In a letter to the Irish Times he wrote “However, a subset of vulnerable people will be entirely missed by this programme, those who are unable to leave their houses. These people are entirely dependent on carers who will not be vaccinated in the near-future and therefore can transmit Covid.
“The mRNA vaccine produced by Pfizer and Moderna are not amendable to transport once opened. The National Immunisation Advistory Committee has clearly stated that any vaccine is better than no vaccine and, that while the Astra Zeneca vaccine lacks evidence for a recommendation, there is no evidence of safety concerns. Crucially, it can be transported more easily than the mRNA vaccines.
“Will the HSE accept flexibility on this issue, or must we see yet another vulnerable group failed by the State?”
Now the Health Service Executive (HSE) chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry has said that “no person will be left behind” as the vaccination of those over the age of 70 begins from next week, starting with those over 85.
Administering the Covid-19 vaccine to the over-70s cohort as quickly as possible was the priority of the vaccination programme, he said.
This will be carried out under a revised plan using only the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which both must be stored at ultra-low temperatures.
Dr Henry said the majority of people will be able to travel directly to either their GP’s clinic or a vaccination centre, but the HSE would ensure vaccinators would go to “everybody’s home if absolutely necessary.”
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