THE HEALTH MINISTER has received a HSE review into the Beacon Hospital offering leftover Covid-19 vaccine doses to several teachers at a private school in Bray.

The Dublin hospital was the focus of controversy earlier this year after it emerged that it had administered 20 leftover Covid-19 vaccines to a number of teachers at St Gerard’s School in Wicklow.

Stephen Donnelly told Newstalk Breakfast: “The review was provided to the Department of Health on Monday.

“I have had a quick conversation with the HSE about it and one of the things contained in there is that really the school in question, there’s no blame being put there whatsoever. The conclusion is they really were just trying to do the right thing.”

A spokesperson for the HSE said the report has been given to Donnelly in advance of its publication.

In July, a report commission by the board of the hospital found that the decision to provide these vaccines to the teachers was incorrect, but made in good faith. 

The review found that proper procedures were not followed in giving the excess vaccine doses to teachers from St Gerard’s School.

The review also found that, on the day the teachers received the jabs, a decision was made to pierce five vials of AstraZeneca vaccine so that around 80 doses were available to use.

It said that the decision to pierce the five vials was done in a “mistaken belief” about the final check-in time for the vaccine clinic that day, and that there were a sufficient number of healthcare workers expected for vaccination that day.