Minister Browne welcomes approval of second vaccine
THE APPROVAL by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of a second Covid-19 vaccine for use across the EU has been welcomed by Minister James Browne.
He welcomed the decision to approve the use of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and said it paves the way for the vaccine to be administered here in Ireland as well as across all of Europe.
‘I am delighted to see the EMA approve the use of this second vaccine,’ he said.
‘ The Moderna vaccine will now be rolled out across the EU,’ he added.
The approval follows in the wake of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine also receiving the green light from the EMA.
‘ The benefit of the Mod
erna vaccine is the refrigeration requirements are easier which makes the roll-out more straightforward than other vaccines,’ said Min Browne.
‘We need an accelerated rollout of vaccines to our frontline workers and most vulnerable in society,’ he added.
He also welcomed the fact that the number of people vaccinated will also be included in daily statistics relating to the disease.
Min Browne also acknowledged that despite the vaccine the alarming rise in figures in recent weeks means there is still cause for concern.
‘ There will be a difficult few weeks ahead as the nationwide case numbers have increased alarmingly,’ he said.
‘However there is a light at the end of this lockdown [and] more vaccines are likely to be approved and quantities of existing vaccines will increase while the vaccination programme works through the priority groups in the State,’ he added.