Taskforce meeting to discuss delivery of Covid-19 vaccination to Irish population

There are currently three vaccines in production which are showing early positive indicators, according to reports.

The strategy to provide the Irish population with access to a Covid-19 vaccination will be dealt with "urgently and comprehensively".

That is according to the chairman of the Government's vaccine taskforce, Professor Brian McCraith.

"Urgency", Professor McCraith told RTÉ radio’s The Business on Saturday is the "keyword".

He said the taskforce will provide information to the public about the vaccine when it is "available and accurate".

There are currently three vaccines in production which are showing early positive indicators, according to reports.

This week, the Pfizer-BioNTech’s reported their vaccine was 95% effective, while Moderna's efforts were displaying 94.5% efficacy.

Meanwhile, Oxford University-AstraZeneca’s phase two findings showed it causes few side effects, particularly among older people.

“We got really excellent news this week, albeit by press release. I think there’s great excitement about the indicators of at least three of the vaccines; the Oxford university one, the Moderna one and the Pfizer one. Really strong indications,” Professor MacCraith said.

Earlier, it was reported that US regulators will meet on December 10 to discuss whether to authorise the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech for emergency use.

Professor McCraith said the taskforce is to have its first full meeting early next week and it will look at all elements of the "end-to-end process" of the delivery of the vaccine.

This week, the Pfizer-BioNTech’s reported their vaccine was 95% effective, while Moderna's efforts were displaying 94.5% efficacy.

The news comes as eight more deaths related to Covid-19 were confirmed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet).

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre was on Friday notified of 330 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

While chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan commended people for their efforts in stopping the spread of the deadly virus, he again urged people to keep social distancing and take other precautions.

This was so, he said, we can “get to where we need to be on December 1”.

However, there is growing frustration over the relatively static nature of the country’s Covid-19 stats, despite the six-week level 5 lockdown imposed.