ANGER OVER 9AM TO 5PM JAB ROLL-OUT

Health experts, patient groups and politicians hit out at time frame of vaccine access... even though GPs offer to do weekends

THE roll- out of the Covid- 19 vaccine must be extended beyond Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm working hours, to ‘win the war’ on the pandemic, health experts and politicians have urged.

As Ireland begins its roll- out of the first 10,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine from today, the HSE has said it will only be administered on a nine-to-five basis – and on weekdays.

Groups representing at-risk patients with serious illness are arguing that the times alloted show a ‘clear lack of urgency’.

The limited time frame being given to the most important vaccination programme in our history comes despite a number of GPs having already

offered to work evenings and weekends in order to speed up the vaccination of vulnerable nursing home residents.

Outspoken Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan also agreed that the roll- out should be extended to seven days a week.

According to documents sent to nursing homes prior to Christmas, which laid out the vaccination programme due to start on January 11, vaccination teams will work on a ‘typical day’ schedule based on an assumed 39-hour week.

This means vaccinations in nursing homes will only take place between 9am and 5pm, which means a total vaccination time of six hours and 45 minutes when breaks are taken into account.

Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients’ Association told the Irish Daily Mail he’s ‘very disappointed’ that Ireland is one of the last EU countries to begin its national inoculation for coronavirus.

‘A nine-to-five weekday roll-out is not a safe approach,’ he added. ‘ This i s a war to save l i ves, communities and our economy.’

Mr McMahon argued t hat I reland’s delayed roll- out is partially due to red tape. ‘This delay and planned delivery of quantities needs to be explained. I can’t see a sensible reason why it is taking so long to administer a vaccine of such importance,’ he said.

Indeed, Mr McMahon’s ‘red tape’ claim was backed up somewhat by

‘Fanfare over two boxes on a forklift’

the HSE itself yesterday. A spokesperson for the HSE said: ‘The HSE’s priority is the safe and effective roll- out of all vaccines in a managed and systemic manner.

‘Following the authorisation of the first Covid vaccine on December 21, several further steps needed to be completed before the vaccine was given to the first priority group. Firstly, based on the market authorisation information, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee had to complete and publish its chapter of advice on use of Covid-19 vaccine sin Ireland. This was published on December 23.’

Training had to be issued to vaccinators and public information material had to produced, it said.

Administering the vaccine to Ireland’s largely privately owned nursing homes has also proved ‘complex’, the HSE said.

Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan said: ‘Rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine will be one of the most important public health measures ever carried out by an Irish government. Our lives, health, livelihoods and enjoyment of life depend upon an effective and speedy roll-out.

‘The State should be planning for vaccinations to be carried out seven days a week, with multiple shifts each day.’

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon is calling for the Government to assign a Cabinet member with direct responsibility for the vaccine. He added that there is a lack of urgency at Government level on the roll-out. ‘I believe they can definitely extend the roll-out to weekends without putting unrealistic expectations on health workers,’ he said. ‘There’s an annoying lack of ambition and self- confidence around our vaccination programme. Germany are building vaccination centres and the UK started over a week ago.

‘We have two boxes carried on a forklift to great fanfare lying in a warehouse for four days.’ Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane TD said that it is up to the HSE to decide when it will administer the vaccine. However, he said he believes it needs to clearly state why it’s only being rolled out during weekday hours. Infectious diseases consultant Dr Jack Lambert said: ‘ Time is of the essence here for all sorts of reasons. I think we need to put together a priority that it gets done as soon as possible and if that requires people working overtime, we should do it. It’s a huge challenge, 4 million people being vaccinated two doses of vaccine – that is 8 million doses. It is going to take thousands of extra staff.’

Monaghan-based GP Illona Duffy said she thinks we can learn from