A FALSE CLAIM being circulated on Facebook suggests all Direct Provision residents at Mosney in Co Meath are being vaccinated – ahead of the priority schedule laid out by the government.

The government’s vaccine implementation plan contains a sequencing list, setting out the order in which various groups in society will receive their vaccine.

The first two, which ran in tandem, were frontline healthcare workers and residents in longterm care facilities who are over the age of 65. The next priority groups in focus are people aged over 70 and those with specific underlying conditions that put them at very high risk of severe Covid-19 disease. 

The HSE has confirmed that it is still working through these first four groups and has not begun a programme of vaccination across Direct Provision centres. It has also specifically confirmed that vaccination of all residents at Mosney is not currently taking place. 

The claim shared online, posted on 4 March, states “all residents of Mosney refugee camp to receive the Covid vaccination from Thursday onwards”.

It goes on to claim Irish people are “second class citizens in our own country”. 

In a statement to TheJournal.ie, the HSE said it is continuing to vaccinate “those who are most vulnerable in society”, as set out in the updated provisional vaccine allocation strategy published by Government.

It confirmed that Direct Provision residents are included in Cohort 9. The ninth group, or cohort, on the original sequencing list is people aged 18-64 living or working in crowded accommodation where self-isolation and social distancing is difficult to maintain.

The vaccination programme will move to Cohort 9 after it moves through cohorts which cover those aged 65-69, other healthcare workers, workers key to the vaccination programme, people aged 16-64 who are at high risk of severe disease and people aged 16-64 living in long-term residential care facilities. 

“Only those residents living in Direct Provision centres who fall under the current priority lists (Cohorts 1-4) will be called for vaccination at this time,” the HSE said.

“Vaccination of all residents at Mosney has not taken place.”

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There is a lot of false news and scaremongering being spread in Ireland at the moment about coronavirus. Here are some practical ways for you to assess whether the messages that you’re seeing – especially on WhatsApp – are true or not. 

STOP, THINK AND CHECK 

Look at where it’s coming from. Is it someone you know? Do they have a source for the information (e.g. the HSE website) or are they just saying that the information comes from someone they know? A lot of the false news being spread right now is from people claiming that messages from ‘a friend’ of theirs. Have a look yourself – do a quick Google search and see if the information is being reported elsewhere. 

Secondly, get the whole story, not just a headline. A lot of these messages have got vague information (“all the doctors at this hospital are panicking”) and don’t mention specific details. This is often – but not always a sign – that it may not be accurate. 

Finally, see how you feel after reading it. A lot of these false messages are designed to make people feel panicked. They’re deliberately manipulating your feelings to make you more likely to share it. If you feel panicked after reading something, check it out and see if it really is true.

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