Why south hospitals got more doses
HOSPITALS in the south have had a disproportionately large number of Covid-19 vaccines administered so far.
But rather than it being some form of favouritism for Cork, Kerry and Waterford hospitals, the HSE has insisted it’s pot luck – and that regional distribution of the jabs will vary week to week.
More than one-third of doses administered up to last Tuesday were given out in hospitals run by the South/Southwest Hospital Group, despite it being only the third biggest of the seven hospital groups by number of employees.
Figures from the HSE obtained by the Irish Times showed the South/ Southwest group had administered 19,840 doses by then – and 22,000 by last Friday – compared with 12,110 administered to staff at the Ireland East Hospital Group, which has 1,500 more staff. Relative to size, staff in the South/Southwest hospitals were three times more likely to have received the vaccine than those in the west (Saolta hospital group) and four times more likely than in the RCSI hospital group in Dublin and the north-east.
Explaining the geographical lottery, HSE chief Paul Reid told RTÉ: ‘You’ll see a mix and a variance each week between allocations each week, and some hospitals will get an increased allocation one week.’
In its response, the HSE said the allocation of vaccines is based on the Government’s published plan which sets high-level priorities and guidance. It said: ‘The National Immunisation Office has allocated vaccines to hospital groups based on the number and level of hospitals in each group, the number of doses requested by each group and vaccine supply.
It said that in week two of the vaccine roll-out, commencing January 4, jabs were ‘distributed to additional hospitals’. ‘The amounts they requested depended on factors including staff numbers, and the expected time required to familiarise staff with handling/management of vaccine. Therefore some hospital groups were ahead of others in terms of volumes received by the end of week two,’ it added.