People Before Profit Health spokesperson, Gino Kenny TD, will ask Minister Donnelly tomorrow morning at a special briefing about:
· How much of the Moderna vaccine Ireland has ordered, when we will get it and how it will be rolled out?
· Timeline for rollout of mass vaccination in Ireland and the administration of this mass vaccination programme considering the holes in our public and community health infrastructure.
· Patents, and how Ireland can look to produce its own vaccine on mass due to the large pharmaceutical industry here?
· Clarify when and how vulnerable people in the home/community setting will be vaccinated and issues around storage of the vaccine.
Gino Kenny TD said before the meeting: “It is welcome news that the EMA have approved the Moderna vaccine. Minister Donnelly needs to clearly outline how much of the Moderna vaccine Ireland is due to get, when we will get it and how we will conduct a mass vaccination programme. He needs to spell out a timeline for when we are hoping to have mass vaccination in this country.
“There are also questions about storage and refrigeration requirements of some of the vaccines that need to be looked at when we are talking about mass rollout in different settings.
“The Minister needs to take particular cognisance of the issues surrounding vulnerable people who live in housing or community settings who have carers or family members coming in to look after them. We need to know when those people will get the vaccination and how it will be administered.
“I would also like the Minister to answer questions about how Ireland can get around patent issues so that as a country we can quickly produce adequate amounts of vaccine here considering the very large pharmaceutical industry we have, specifically what his views are on the call to suspend WTO TRIPS.”
