‘EXTEND JAB GAP’ TO OPEN UP FOR SUMMER
Health Minister’s idea follows weekend gaffe
STEPHEN Donnelly is exploring a new plan to save the summer which involves extending the gap between vaccine doses so more people can get some protection against Covid-19.
The Health Minister’s proposal for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is being taken ‘very seriously’, according to a source.
The embattled minister expects a recommendation on the matter later this week. It follows on from what
many in Government felt was another major gaffe by Mr Donnelly at the weekend when he enquired about vaccinating under-30s first to help slow the spread of the virus.
This was quickly shot down as anger among older voters quickly emerged.
The latest move by the minister is seen as a concerted attempt to get the country reopened by the summer and offer a remedy to pandemic fatigue across the country caused by the slow rollout of jabs, numerous setbacks and no clear roadmap yet on exiting lockdown.
Extending the gap between vaccine doses would allow more people to receive at least their first dose sooner than forecast by the end of June and allow a quicker reopening of the country.
Health Minister Donnelly said yesterday: ‘We’re looking at the vaccines and asking whether we can extend them to eight or 12 weeks to see if that would have much of an impact.’
And he claimed: ‘We’re asking that question for a very positive reason, in that the data we are getting back from the vaccination programme is that even the first dose of these two-dose vaccines is showing absolutely incredible results in the reduction of cases and the reduction in hospitalisations.’
Professor Luke O’Neill said that if the second shot of the vaccine was delayed
‘Stop-start stuff erodes public confidence’
‘the prediction is that by the end of May we will achieve 80% coverage’.
A regional approach to easing restrictions may also be on the cards amid anger in the west, where case numbers are low and where residents feel they are being ‘penalised’ because of high numbers of cases in the east, particularly in Dublin.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the Government ‘may very well’ go with a regionalised approach to easing restrictions but for now the preference is to go on a national basis. But the extension of the gap between vaccine doses is being seen as a more serious prospect so that businesses can reopen and families can meet up again sooner.
Grilled on Newstalk’s On the Record and RTÉ radio’s This Week shows, Mr Donnelly failed to calm the growing anxiety of his Coalition colleagues over the accident-prone nature of his stewardship.
Amidst a public backlash at the weekend, Mr Donnelly spoke about his enquiry about vaccinating the 18-30 age group first, but insisted: ‘There is no plan to do this, no proposal to do this. I was just checking in with the [acting Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn] to see where the data was.’
He said his department is ‘constantly probing’ into the data behind the vaccination rollout and that all he was doing was ‘checking to see if the data was there and [Dr Glynn] said it wasn’t’.
Though Mr Donnelly has clarified his position, senior figures within the Coalition continue to be deeply unimpressed. One minister noted: ‘People are starting to ask how long we can continue with this walking political landmine? For a communications guru he is not very good at communicating. He is a Midas in reverse, everything he touches turns to the opposite of gold. I have had teachers, gardaí, the entire range of ages from 30 plus up in arms.’
One source close to the heart of Government said: ‘He has at least clarified it. It would have been better if he didn’t have to clarify it.’
Another minister warned: ‘This stop-start stuff is eroding public confidence. People want a clear plan. This fellow is like the tinker man. Everything changes every day. It is unwise in a landscape where the public want certainty.’
In a scathing analysis, one Coalition minister warned: ‘Homework is not being done on this or other issues. The public are being irritated by the switches.’
Tensions between Mr Donnelly and Fine Gael were already high in the wake of the Minister’s victory in the spat with Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney over the issue of adding more countries to the mandatory hotel quarantine list.
In the wake of the decision to add more countries to the list, the Government became embroiled in a diplomatic row with Italy and the European Commission. A series of court cases have also stemmed from the compulsory nature of
hotel quarantining. In an indication of the very public tensions within the Coalition, Mr Donnelly was the recipient of a sharp text message from the former justice minister Charlie Flanagan, who asked Mr Donnelly if he felt his policies were fair.
Mr Flanagan said: ‘Hi Stephen, just wondering why a constituent of mine is unable to visit dying father while a rugby team and golfers can fly in freely. Doesn’t seem fair to me. Kind regards, Charlie.’
Other ministers were privately scathing of the embattled Health Minister, with one noting: ‘It is an astonishing achievement by Donnelly. He has managed to alienate the entire European Union in a day. Even the DUP couldn’t manage that.’