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LAST UPDATE | 15 Dec 2020
THE PLANS FOR Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccines roll-out have been published this afternoon, with details about logistics and who will carry out the inoculations included.
The vaccines will be administered in three phases – the initial roll-out, a mass ramp-up and open access. Once there are a large number of doses available, the mass ramp-up stage can begin.
The highest priority groups – those over the age of 65 in long-term care facilities; and frontline healthcare workers in direct patient contact – will receive vaccinations first. The prioritisation strategy for who gets the vaccine in what order was outlined by government last week.
Announcing the plans, Minister for Health Donnelly said: “Today is a really positive day for all of us. After a very difficult year, we are hopeful that Covid-19 vaccines will be approved for us in Ireland in a matter of weeks.
The scale of the Covid-19 vaccination programme will be bigger and more complex than previous vaccination programmes. It will play a central role in our exit from the pandemic. Over time it will allow us to return to re-open our society and to reconnect in the ways we once took for granted.
The minister also said that the first vaccinations could be given to people in Ireland before the end of year, pending the approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by European authorities.
The vaccines will be administrated from long-term care facilities, hospitals, mass vaccination clinics, GP surgeries and community pharmacies.
This will include the creation of vaccine hubs that will account for a large portion of the vaccinations.
The strategy also seeks to call on the skills of retired doctors and healthcare professionals to help with the vaccination effort.
However, the majority of the work will fall to healthcare workers, such as GPs, nurses and pharmacists who are set to be asked to administer the vaccines programme.
Examples of vaccine administration locations will include acute hospitals such as Tallaght Hospital, St James’s and Beaumont (all Dublin), as well as Mayo General Hospital, Cavan General Hospital, Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Galway.
Vaccines will also be administered in community nursing units around the country.
Examples of the sites for mass vaccination centres are Citywest and the National Exhibition Centre in Cloghran. The option of using university campuses as mass vaccination centres has also been mooted.
Under what’s called the “vaccination pathway”, the plan outlines how members of nominated groups will be invited to register and consent for vaccination.
They’ll then be offered a scheduled appointment at a named centre.
The plan says: “The goal is for a standard registration process where all key identification data, demographic data, any required medical information and the informed consent is commenced.”
When a person arrives for their appointment, their pre-registered details will be confirmed.
They’ll then receive their jab, and then be discharged after a 15-minute period.
A person will be reminded of the date they must return for their second dose, and the process will repeat again.
The plan says: “While the clinical setting will vary the goal is to provide a consistent process with a common data and technology platform. This will ensure a consistent process, accurate data capture and timely reporting.”
There’ll also be a portal on the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) website to report any suspected side effects experienced after receiving the vaccine.
Each stage of this journey will be enabled and assisted by an ICT system, the plan adds. This ICT system will enable the planning and scheduling of vaccinations, while also help to monitor and evaluate the success and effectiveness of the programme.
The plan adds: “A functionally rich and proven solution for the proposed vaccination programme must be sourced, purchased, implemented and integrated into the HSE ICT infrastructure before the end of the year.”
HSE CEO Paul Reid said today that the vendor selection process for an IT system has been agreed between IBM and Salesforce. He also said the HSE was liasing with the Data Protection Commission on the IT system that will be used.
NPHET will also monitor uptake of the vaccine, while the plan also stresses the importance of a clear communications plan to answer any questions the public may have about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
It also includes details of when the different vaccines may be available.
January 2021 is the earliest possible date for the Moderna and Astrazeneca vaccine to become available. The following month is the earliest the Curevac vaccine may be available. That’s followed by another vaccine in development from Sanofi/GSK in July 2021.
However, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said today the rollout of the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine could begin before the new year if approved by European Authorities next week.
Altogether, Ireland has agreed deals to access over 14 million doses of the various vaccines in development.
The strategy was developed by the High-Level Task Force on Covid-19 Vaccination which is chaired by former DCU president Professor Brian MacCraith.
Donnelly joined MacCraith as well as chief medical officer Dr. Tony Holohan at a briefing this afternoon to outline the strategy.
Cabinet signed off on the strategy following a meeting this morning.
Brian MacCraith said that he has had discussions with a number of third-level institutions about using their campuses to develop mass vaccination centres, and that the HSE were “working on that” idea.
“I’ve spoken with the presidents of NUI Galway, Waterford IT, University of Limerick, and UCC in the past number of days, and all have expressed great support for the concept of actually being able to assist in the development of mass vaccination centres.”
Dr Holohan, however, added that it’s important not to drop our guard now as Covid-19 will remain with us for months to come.
HPRA CEO Dr Lorraine Nolan said that the European Medicines Agency has been reviewing the data from the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on an ongoing basis.
She added that the scientific experts involved in the vaccine approval are focused on completing the “detailed and rigorous review” in the shortest timeframe possible.
With reporting from Rónán Duffy, Christina Finn
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He’s Departed?
@Grimm: underrated comment
@Grimm: no loss ,well done the mafia.
No loss…
@Tara Tevlin: I believe a life was lost
@Tara Tevlin: Unless he was supposed to be witness in a trial, then his testimony is lost and some might walk free on the back of that. Is this the same as what happened to the Iceman?
@Patrick Kearns: The Iceman said a lot of crap… Don’t get me wrong, the book by Philip Carlo was amazing. I couldn’t put it down, but you have to say half the murders the Iceman confessed to where made up in his head. The Jimmy Hoffa murder which he claimed to have done is total BS..
He sure outlived his victims by a lot of years.
Lived in Southie for a while and he was very much revered, not surprised considering he was like Robin Hood, especially around xmas. Interesting fact on the very much Irish dominated Southie district in Boston that it was the last place in the States to introduce mixed race schools. Typical Paddies.
@Derek Durkin:” typical Paddies”????? Get a life.
@Padraic Burke: u a bit upset there mate by that remark???….have a little lie down and you’ll be ok.
@Derek Durkin: what do you mean by that exactly you clown.
@Padraic Burke: Fight!
@Padraic Burke: Patties
@Derek Durkin: I actually took the time to Google your claim and have discovered that your talking absolute rubbish. You actually couldn’t be more wrong….hahaha……
@Derek Durkin: I’ve been there too so I understand what you mean. Bloody paddy-yanks!
@Padraic Burke: it was more to do with the school buses and such but it was a hotbed for racial violence….and my claim still stands that in the past the Irish were very hostile towards different ethnicities for a number of reasons, something i thought was common knowledge.
@Derek Durkin: I must have missed the bit in the story where Robin Hood sold gear in Sherwood Forest.
@wzFbzPzf: it was quite intentional…just wanted to see the ire that comes from the easily offended these days….very dangerous people.
The only one to come out of the whole saga with his head held high was the FBI agent John Connolly.. He was the only one who never ratted anyone out and refused a deal for a lighter sentence.. Yes he was a rogue agent, but he stuck with the lads who he grew up with..
@David Garland: How does a murderer hold their head up high?
@Stephen Curry: Who did John Connolly kill
@David Garland: he was convicted of 2nd degree murder….so….
@hyippy: Connolly didn’t kill anyone.. He was charged with murder because the Fed’s thought he would talk but he kept his mouth shut
@David Garland: Oh
@David Garland: His Head held high – after being convicted in relation to the murder of two people?? He should be proud alright. Very strange comment.
@Marty Borgnine: He can hold his head high among the other members of the gang.. He was the only one out of the lot of them that didn’t talk. He took his punishment and is doing the time. For that he can hold his head high..
@David Garland: He stuck by his lads, as they tortured & killed people from the same community; what a stand up guy!
@David Garland: he wasnt just charged with murder, he was convicted. That doesnt happen without evidence. You betray your own lack of morality by thinking theres something noble in criminality. He was an FBI agent who had a hand in multiple murders and many other crimes. He’s a convicted murderer plain and simple. If you’re such a fan of “loyalty” what about his loyalty to the FBI or the oaths he took there? Or is it just “loyalty” to murderers you value?
Shinners will be packing their balaclavas and sunglasses for the funeral
@Drahcir Neirbo: Martin Ferris is searching out his black armband
@Dermot Lane: mournin the loss begorrah of a good son of eire to be sure and him only robbing off sassanachs and proddys to be sure
@Drahcir Neirbo: Wonder will the sanction given by the F.B.I. ever come to light… Bolger was a gangster and murderer, but he like the mafia must be in awe of Irish politicians who facilitated in the economic destruction of a country. Old saying, you need a gun to rob a bank , but a bank does not need a gun to bring down a country.
@Donal Desmond: seemless segway there
@wzFbzPzf: Tell that to the people whose mortgages were sold to vulture companies. The only two high profile cases concerning the criminal trials of bankers collapsed because of shredded documents by the state and inadmissible evidence.
@Donal Desmond: Shockingly enough, neither Bulger nor the Boston mafia were involved in either trial. There’s enough relevant stories on here where you can beat your drum in the comments section, no need to go shoehorning your opinions in here.
@Joe Bloggs: Thought this article was open to comments. Probably my comments do not sit well with your selective forms of gangsterism.
@Donal Desmond: I thought the comments were meant to be pertinent to the content of the article, do you do the same on the sports pieces?
@Joe Bloggs: Certainly not , but gangsterism in any form is the same. Bolger was a gangster, just comparing him with the gangsterism of Irish banks and politicians. Bolger not a patch on them.
Read a lot about this guy, an interesting guy but a psychopath! Film was disappointing as he fit a lot into his life and no way a feature film would cover this. Even had time to send arms to the IRA! The interaction with the FBI was unreal, he completely gave them The runaround. Saw his apartment in Santa Monica as I was in the area at the time he was captured, would make you wonder how he got away so long
@Ger Murphy: Depp did not do a good job of playing Whitey Bulger . I wonder was depp having ‘difficulties ‘ at the time . In any case he was the wrong actor to play this man .
Probably enough material to do an ‘almost goodfellas ‘ but the Depp Film fell way way way below that level .
Probably not good to be glorifying gangsters anyway .
Did the Devil need a Killer in a hurry even a very old one ?
@Pl O’neill: There’s a law in the world of films: Johnnie Depp isn’t allowed to be in good ones.
Shipping up to Boston, Whitey.
@Johnny Rotten: in a box…
As Gerry Adams would say he was a “Good Republican”.
FBI behind this no doubt
so no more black mass??
@Frank Dubogovik: Were you expecting a sequel…?
@Patrick Kearns: black confession?
Karma…
The world’s a better place today.
“High security” For whom?
have your say