JABSOLUTE SHAMBLES
»»J&J shot delayed over blood clot risk »»ireland was set to get 600k doses »»Hse to rejig its inoculation plans
IRELAND’S jab rollout has been plunged into further chaos as Johnson & Johnson has said it will delay its one-shot vaccine to the EU over blood clot concerns.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly last night admitted this would delay reopening of society.
We were set to receive nearly 41,000 doses this month with the first delivery expected next Monday.
The blow comes less than 24 hours after NIAC recommended the use of the Astrazeneca jab to those aged over 60 only.
The HSE has asked hospitals to cancel all Astrazeneca clinics except those arranged for certain people over 60, for the remainder of this week.
This will result in thousands more people seeing their jab appointment cancelled this week.
Mr Donnelly has said
“a logistical headache is an understatement” when reacting to the latest news on J&J and the Astrazeneca jab.
He added that longerterm restrictions on the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would have a “serious” impact on
Ireland’s Covid-19 immunisation programme. Mr Donnelly told RTE One: “There’s no question that if it follows through that there are restrictions, there’s no question that would require serious reprofiling of the programme.
“There’s no question if we had to fully pull the Janssen or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, there’s no question, you can’t vaccinate as many people with less vaccines.”
Mr Donnelly said people who have an underlying health condition and had their Astrazeneca appointment cancelled will hear about their vaccines later in the week when an updated plan will be published.
The HSE is now scrambling to rejig the roll-out of the vaccines here as the government’s aim to protect over 80% of the population with at least one dose by the end of June slips further out of sight. The HSE said: “Some clinics will be in a position to proceed with the vaccination of patients over the age of 60 this week, in line with the new guidance, and in these cases individuals will be contacted directly by their vaccination centre to arrange their appointment.
“Anybody who is due to attend an Astrazeneca clinic, and who is not contacted directly in advance, is therefore advised not to attend.”
The decision to halt the J&J vaccine comes after the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control moved to “pause” the one-jab Covid-19 inoculation on worries over six reported cases of a rare type of blood clot in the States.
Over 600,000 doses which has been dubbed as a “game-changer” were due to arrive in the country between now and the end of June.
In a statement, J&J said it is aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of people who received its vaccine. A spokesman said: “Out of an abundance of caution, the CDC and FDA have recommended a pause.
“In addition, we have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe.”
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn told the Dail’s Health Committee yesterday the European Medicines Agency – Europe’s health watchdog – has been monitoring the situation surrounding Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and its possible link to blood clots.
He said NPHET and other public health colleagues will be monitoring the situation for further data.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin will be briefed by the State’s vaccine taskforce and the HSE early Wednesday morning before Cabinet discuss where the country stands now on the vaccine programme.
Meanwhile, Minister Simon Harris said it was his “very firm view” that people who were fully vaccinated and had negative PCR tests should not have to quarantine
in a hotel.