Stephen Donnelly: 'No plans' to move anyone up the vaccine queue

Stephen Donnelly said that while good progress was being made in terms of rolling out the vaccines, it is unlikely that every section of society will reopen on March 5 when the current restrictions end.

There is no plan to move anyone up the Covid-19 vaccination sequencing ladder, the Health Minister said.

Stephen Donnelly was speaking as teachers in additional needs schools expressed their desire to be fast-tracked as they prepare to return to the classroom.

Mr Donnelly told RTÉ radio that the sequencing ladder, which has teachers in phase 11, had been set but was "a living document" and different sections of society could move up However, he said that it was not on the agenda at the moment.

"Certainly there's no plans at present to move anyone up on the schedule but when it was published it was described as a living document, and that's what it will remain," he said.

"The prioritisation, which was advised by NIAC the expert group, was then looked at by Nphet. 

"They endorsed it and obviously it was agreed by government and the two main unions that the objectives of the prioritisation were to minimise the risk of illness, and ultimately to minimise the risk of death from this awful disease so that's what the prioritisation is based on.

I know a lot of the teachers are very much looking forward to getting back, but the concerns they do have have to be taken very, very seriously. 

"I know Minister Foley is working very closely with them, and they're looking at infection prevention and control measures, and various other things that can be used because obviously anyone who's going to work their safety is hugely important."

Mr Donnelly said that while good progress was being made in terms of rolling out the vaccines, it is unlikely that every section of society will reopen on March 5 when the current restrictions end. 

When asked about the timeline of the vaccine roll out and the possibility of major sporting and cultural events happening later in the year, Mr Donnelly said that he hoped such events could happen. NPHET would have to look at how quickly the risk of transmission was going down as more people were vaccinated: “NPHET will look at how we’re doing on the numbers.”

He said that the reopening would be "careful and considered" but would not include everything that is currently closed. 

Mr Donnelly said that he "would hope" that vaccinations of the most vulnerable groups could drop sufficiently throughout the year that some large gatherings could be permitted.

Mr Donnelly said that over-85s will begin their vaccinations "in the coming weeks". 

He said that advertising about the vaccinations was to alert those people and their families that there was nothing that they had to do currently but they will be contacted when vaccines become available.

He said that 35,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which last night was given the green light for use on over 65s, would arrive in the country next Monday.

The government has described the AstraZeneca vaccines as a “gamechanger” as it can be stored in regular fridges.

Latest figures show, over 40,000 people have now received a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna inoculations. 

Mr Donnelly said that the annual flu vaccine had a rate of 60% protection while some of the Covid vaccines had a level of protection above 90% which was heartening. Public health experts would have to determine what risk there was to the public when the most vulnerable had been vaccinated, he said.