Minister quiet on scrutiny of his vaccine supply claim

PHARMACEUTICAL giant Pfizer did not give a new guarantee on tvhe supply of its Covid-19 vaccine to Ireland, despite a claim from Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.

On Friday, the minister declared he was accelerating the roll-out of the jab by drawing on ‘buffer’ doses in a major change of strategy.

Mr Donnelly said he made the decision after receiving ‘ solid reassurance from Pfizer’ about the supply of the vaccine.

‘We’ve decided to use some of our one-week buffer as our supply of vaccines has been constant and we’ve received solid reassurance from Pfizer that this will continue to be the case,’ he said on Friday.

The Government’s plan aims to vaccinate all nursing homes residents and staff within a 16- day period, a week ahead of schedule.

However, sources within Pfizer – the manufacturer of the only Covid vaccine being used in the country – have contradicted Mr Donnelly’s remarks. ‘ There has been no change’ in the company’s ability to supply the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to Ireland, the source said.

Mr Donnelly did not respond to a request for comment last night.

Currently, Pfizer only provides confirmation of delivery of each shipment of the vaccine 48 hours in advance. Mr Donnelly’s announcement came just hours after two separate briefings by the chairperson of the High-Level Taskforce for Covid-19 Vaccine roll-out, Professor Brian MacCraith, to Oireachtas members and journalists.

Prof. MacCraith told both briefings that a decision had been taken to move towards a ‘buffer’ system. This means a one-week supply of the vaccine would be held back to ensure adequate supply was available for second doses in the event of delays with vaccine supply.

Keeping one week’s worth of doses in reserve was deemed ‘prudent’ to ensure there would be no delay in the roll-out of the crucial second dose for each patient.

Social Democrat Róisín Shortall urged Mr Donnelly to share the information he said he received from Pfizer. ‘While it’s welcome to hear about the acceleration of the roll- out, it is important that the minister shares any details of how he has greater confidence in the delivery of the vaccine,’ she said.

Sources close to the minister said it was ‘his idea’ and he contacted HSE chief Paul Reid to see if it was possible to administer more jabs. Mr Reid confirmed it was possible using a plan involving the use of hospital, ambulance, school and community vaccinators.

‘It was Minister Donnelly’s idea’