Vaccination priority list review
Deputy McGrath sought an immediate review of the vaccination priority list and raised inconsistencies affecting vulnerable people and a specific Tipperary case. The Tánaiste said prioritisation was determined by NIAC and NPHET on medical risk, with nursing homes and healthcare workers first and older people next.
Can there be an immediate review of the HSE priority list for the vaccination programme? There are a number of inconsistencies in the HSE's own guide for vulnerable people. There are seriously vulnerable people, such as those with cystic fibrosis, family carers and people who provide home help. In Tipperary, there is the case of Valerie, a wonderful young woman who had a terrible accident some years ago. She has 24-7 care, which her parents organise for her in a private capacity on foot of an award she got from the HSE after her devastating accident. She has five full-time carers and two part-time ones. I have visited her a few times. Her family are very worried in case anything happens to any of the carers, because there will be nobody else to care for her. She is a private person employing these people, paying PRSI and everything else.
Cystic fibrosis patients, too, are deeply concerned and we know how vulnerable they are. They are regarded by the HSE as very vulnerable on one list, but on the vaccination list they are not. There is huge inconsistency. Will the Government have the list reviewed immediately?
Comment on this
The prioritisation is assessed by the national immunisation advisory council, NIAC, and signed off by the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET. It is based on medical need and medical risk, with those most at risk of getting sick and dying being vaccinated first. That means residents in nursing homes, with those most at risk of contracting it - healthcare workers - getting it second. We will then move on to the over-70s. We hope to start vaccinating them next month and that, by the end of March, 1 million people will have had both vaccine doses and about 400,000 will have had at least their first dose. That will include healthcare workers, nursing home residents and staff and the over-70s. I think that perhaps at that point, when those three groups are done, that might be the time for NIAC to review the prioritisation order. I do not think that anyone could doubt that those three groups are the ones who need to get it first.