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LAST UPDATE | 26 Dec 2020
THE FIRST DELIVERY of a vaccine against Covid-19 has arrived into the country today, with vaccinations to begin from next week.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly confirmed that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has arrived into Ireland ahead of the upcoming vaccinations.
He also heralded the arrival of the vaccines as a “positive step forward” after a challenging year.
“The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Comirnaty was rigorously tested by the European Medicines Agency and was found to be safe and effective,” he said.
“It is a massive achievement by the scientific and medical communities. This vaccine will save many lives.”
Donnelly earlier tweeted a picture of himself beside the country’s first delivery of vaccines.
“When is a fridge worth photographing? When it’s just had Ireland’s first #Covid vaccines put in it. The first doses have just arrived and many of them are sitting in that very, very cold fridge,” Donnelly wrote on Twitter.
“We’ll begin vaccinating in four days. #holdfirm,” he said.
Stephen Donnelly / Twitter
Stephen Donnelly / Twitter / Twitter
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the arrival of the vaccines made today “a day of great hope”.
Meanwhile, HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid said the delivery of the vaccine would provide another method – along with continued social distancing and hygiene measures – of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This delivery is a welcome sight at what is a very difficult time in our efforts to curb the devastating impact of Covid-19,” he said.
“It represents hope for us all as we move into a New Year, but we must remember, we all still have our part to play.”
The Cabinet was told earlier this week that around 10,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine would be delivered to Ireland after Christmas following the European Commission’s formal authorisation of the vaccine.
The HSE has confirmed to TheJournal.ie that 9,750 vaccines were scheduled to arrive today.
Tens of thousands more doses are expected to arrive into the country from early January.
Chair of the vaccine taskforce Brian MacCraith said that the arrival marked a “new dawn of hope” in the fight against Covid-19.
“After a truly horrible year, the arrival of vaccines today represent a bright new dawn of hope. Vaccination is a gateway of opportunity for Irish people to protect themselves against this awful virus,” MacCraith said.
“The initial delivery (equal across all EU 27) is now in place at -71 deg C.”
Brian MacCraith / Twitter
Brian MacCraith / Twitter / Twitter
The vaccine, which needs to be kept at -70 degrees Celsius, requires specialised storage infrastructure.
Nine ultra-low temperature fridges were delivered to Ireland at the start of the month and stored in Citywest in anticipation of the vaccine.
Earlier today, chief executive of the HSE Paul Reid announced that he was accepting a delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine today for the HSE.
“An early morning start to a momentous day. Heading off to take receipt of the first delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for the HSE,” Reid said.
“There will be better days ahead for sure. For now, #StaySafe,” he said.
Residents of long-term care facilities over the age of 65 and frontline healthcare workers in direct contact with patients are first in line to be vaccinated.
Under the plan for the rollout of the vaccine, people aged 85 and older and those aged 70 and older will be next to receive the vaccine, followed by other healthcare workers and people aged between 65 and 69.
Residents of nursing homes should receive their two doses of the vaccine by “some time in February”, according to Donnelly.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the country is “mobilising an unprecedented national effort” to rollout the vaccine.
“Vaccinating millions of people will take time, and in the meantime, we have to be very vigilant,” Martin said.
“We cannot go any faster than we are allowed by the supply of the vaccines and the dosing schedule required for them to be effective.”
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Wonderful news!
I bags it.
@Biscuits Patinkin: bagsy it.
@Dr. Udaya Khandavilli: isn’t it technically enough for 4,000 or so people. First shot and then 21 days later? So everyone gets 2 shots.
@Dr. Udaya Khandavilli:
10,000 Phizer Covid 19 vaccines have arrived in Ireland today but won’t be administered for another 4 days. We knew that they were coming but I guess that it will take 4 more days to figure which arm or which cheek to inject. Record number of daily infections and we leave the vaccines in deep freeze. Why the delay?
I wonder how will they f it up?
@trevreilly: sure mistakes will happen – maybe you could run the roll out so there will be no hiccups.
@trevreilly: why don’t you just crawl back under your rock! It’s a good news story so just leave it at that.
@trevreilly: if they give it to you maybe
@Margaret Mcgarry: nasty
@trevreilly: Yep. Can’t wait for the tribunals.
@trevreilly: power goes out in cooling units in the next 4 days?
@trevreilly: Of course you’re perfect and never make a mistake. Why not go for election next time around? I look forward to you getting this country running perfectly.
@trevreilly: go live somewhere else and bring all your whinging buddies with you.
@trevreilly: like politians jumping the queue? after me!
@trevreilly: And A Happy New Year To You Too Mr. Negative! Good Man!
@Mark: remember the goverment ordered printing machine that was too big to fit into the goverment building..!!!!
That could start vaccination tomorrow like all other EU countries.
@Tom O’Hanlon: and if they did you’d moan they are doing in unprepared.
At the end of the day lots of stuff must be put in place for vaccinations to be stored and given. It’s not like they are storing and handing out cookies!
@Barry Somers: How come the rest of Europe are beginning on 27th? They’re supposed to be planning for the roll out the last month. Also seems the plan is vaccine administered 9-5, 5 days a week. UK are administering 7-7, 7 days a week. We’ll still be in lockdown while rest of Europe are back to normal.
@DK: Judging by the journal comments, Ireland actually likes lockdown.
@Tony Humphreys: No one likes lock down, but the majority of us are willing to do the right thing for us all. But then I suppose you will oppose the vaccine too!
@Joe_X: wild off the mark there – its possible to think the human right to liberty is even above public health and also want the vaccine. I will be there at the top of the queue (but after those more at risk, such as health professionals and the vulnerable). I believe in personal responsibility – not expecting someone else to give up their livelyhood or liberty.
@Tom O’Hanlon: Agreed, why not tomorrow if other countries can do it, and not starting to vaccinate in care homes until January 11th. Will they tell us how many lives are lost in care homes through not getting vaccinated quick enough?
@Barry Somers: you’re right, it’s not like they’re handing out tracking cookies. This is the rollout of a vaccine containing active & inactive agents.
@Barry Somers: wait a minute . . Do you mean choclate chip or lemon puff type cookies?
It seems like conputer parlance & medi speak is so intermingled these days. Quarantine, virus, cookies, brings me back to the old SVG computer ‘security’ days.
@Laura: *avg rather
@Tony Humphreys: and what about a persons right to life? Or would you prefer the actions taken during the spanish flu?
Top the que is right yet not willing to help out with the other actions that needed to be taken
@Barry Somers: many centres only ordered the necessary fridges for storing the vaccines last week. Not talking -70 freezers, but normal pharmaceutical fridges where the vaccines are transferred to before use. Some of these are currently held up in trucks. The HSE didn’t seem it necessary to order earlier. I imagine the delay has a lot to do with this
@DK: “rest of Europe are back to normal”? You’re kidding right? Most countries have tighter restrictions than us including curfews in several
@Ger: Good man Ger, quote half a sentence out of context. I started the the sentence with we’ll, as in we will, as in in the future.
@Tony Humphreys: No point in trying to reason with these soft soft people.
@Lee Galiezitte: soft? A right hard man to put yourself in front of others. Just shows how selfish you are. Say that face to face to one of the nurses or doctors around the country, see how far you get!
@DK: that’s nonsense too. The rest of Europe have the same amount of vaccines as we have relative to their population. A couple of days is not going to make any difference one way or another
@Joe_X: Doctor here. Tony Humphreys has a valid point. But we get it – the only show in town is lockdown…. the rest of us are selfish …
@Ger: Straight off the bat we are 3 days behind the rest for no reason as far we know. Not a great sign of things to come.
@Joe_X: I’m a Doctor. You’re soft.
@Alan Gee: my sister is a nurse, maybe you should try debating your it with her instead of me….at least I will just disagree with you….she would leave you for dead on the subject.
@Lee Galiezitte: really….of what?
@Joe_X: cool story and surname.
@Joe_X: Erotic movement.
@Lee Galiezitte: I’m sure your partners will disagree on that one ( and I don’t mean your business partners)
@Joe_X: Why dont you strip down and say that to my bedroom?
@Lee Galiezitte: down boy…..your getting too excited thinking of that prospect!
@Joe_X: is that so……
@Joe_X: we get it. Lockdown proponents are infallible with ‘experts’ in the family to back you up. The rest of us are just selfish and the experts amongst us would be dead in a debate on the subject.
Is there any possibility you could be wrong …?
@Alan Gee: your the one claiming to be the doctor. Not me. Yet any Doctor and nurse I know seems to have the opposite opinion to you. And yes, I do know a few through my sister..
@DK: israel is rolling it out at rocket speed.
@DK: Perhaps waiting to see how those populations react immediately after administration?
Can someone explain why these vaccines are not being administered today?
@David Duffy: Cos the Irish government are slow to do anything always last
@David Duffy: as far as I know it needs to be diluted and made ready to be injected. You don’t just take it out of -70 degree storage and inject it straight into people
@David Duffy: Stephens’ day, everyone is on the piss obviously
@Frank Carty: needs to be diluted? What are they injecting into us, Miwadi?
@David Duffy: maybe Google your question?
@seanC: why not educate yourself and Google how they do it or read up from the vaccine companies how vaccine is prepared and come back and tell us.
You seem surprised at the process.
Sad really that people do not take the time to educate themselves – knowledge is power – or are we just being treated to some humour. Sometimes I am never sure.
@seanC: Yea, the orange flavour.
Wow. The CEO has to get up early and personally take receipt of the vaccine…What a guy!
@RogerRamjet: if he didn’t people like you would moan about how the poor workers have to get up early to do it when the CEO is still in bed and why cant the CEO do it instead
@Ronan Fahy: It probably has nothing to do with the photo opportunity either I guess.
Anyway, its good to get up early and get some work done.
@Ronan Fahy: this is moansville. It happens all the time here.
@RogerRamjet: Must be hard work being this miserable all the time.
@RogerRamjet: You were also up early this morning to work, I’d say.
Genuinely curious as to why we are possibly the last EU country to start vaccinations when all countries received the supplies today. Most of the 27 are starting tomorrow. We’ve known it was coming so really baffled by this delay, which could be a matter or life or death for someone.
@Hugh Corcoran: pharmaceutical fridges weren’t ordered on time. I know that at least one major hospital won’t get a delivery for a few days
Cue lots of politicians lining up for photo instead of commencing vaccination
@Martin Smith: cue the usual moaners that find fault with everything in our great country
Hope it works now.
@mick o neill: Now, now, now, don’t be getting carried away there Mick.
@mick o neill: So do I. If it doesn’t is there a plan b. Because another year like this and the country will be ruined. I really would like Government to tell us what they have planned if the vaccine doesn’t work. I doubt another year of lockdowns would be tolerated.
10,000 vaccines not worth a fiddlers !
@Lorcan O’Neill:
Round the clock production at facilities making the vaccine. And distribution within EU on what’s available is pro rata to a country’s population. Fair system, what you’d expect from any EU led initiative.
As multiple producers secure the necessary EU approval, accreditation’s, the floodgates will soon start to open on supplies.
Time for positivity. The country should be back to normal by July 21.
@Lorcan O’Neill: Spot on. They should convert Santa’s workshop into a vaccine manufacturing facility and get the elves cracking on this now that they are loafing about doing nothing.
@Lorcan O’Neill: we will be receiving 40,000 a week every week after this
@Lorcan O’Neill: Although we would all like a magic instant solution, life is not a Disney movie .This is a good news story but until the room temp vacs get approval roll out will be slow due to the need of.a cold chain.
@Lorcan O’Neill: that’s actually 5000 if it’s two shots.
What I dont get is why Denmark (as one example) get their first vaccines today and are administering from tomorrow morning. Another example is UK who administer their vaccines from 7am to 7pm 7 days every week. HSE in Ireland will wait to start four days later (because they all are off for Christmas) and the HSE roll-out plans are to administer vaccinations between 9am and 5pm (office hours) and only Monday to Friday. That shows how important HSE takes this national Covid emergency.
Stephen Donnelly took receipt of the vaccines today of all days because he could see the headline tomorrow……….
“St. Stephen’s Day”………Yeah buddy, not gonna happen!!
@Alan Bury: or maybe cause his our health minister or would that not work for your funny joke.
How many vaccines has ireland ordered in total?
@matthew mc manus: I believe they ordered 10 million doses total. From several different company’s. Not sure if the breakdown though.
@Sean Lucas: So enough for everyone as two shots required for most if not all of the vaccines.
@matthew mc manus: 3
@matthew mc manus: two doses only
@matthew mc manus:
Irish times 15 dec
Cabinet plans to roll out 14m doses of Covid vaccine in five types of location.
Irish people must need 3 each
@SquintEastwood: they pre ordered 14 million as no1 new which would work or when they would be ready
It is not known if the vaccine can stop or even slow transmission and funny how the vaccine is good for the new strain but we need a new vaccine when there is a new strain is flu each year.
@Michael Philips: Yeah, I wish they wouldn’t have bothered making the vaccine in the first place.
@Michael Philips: flu is caused by viruses from several soueces (swine flu, bird flu) and mutates rapidly and some times one type and sometimes anither type spreads so the flu vaccine chosen each year is based on genetic analysis. SARS-COV-2 has one starting point, not many, and it does not mutate at the same rate as the flu viruses Should SARS or MERS or another coronavirus emerge in the future then it is possible that a new vaccine would needed.
Nextstrain.org have lots of genetic information on flu virus types if you want to look
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Nicely explained!
Its great and all that. And I don’t want to put a dampener on it. But we still don’t have an official word on if the vaccines work against the english mutant. Theres lots of it should does. But no solid evidence yet. And besides that looking at rte it is just symbolic looks like two wine boxes of vaccine.
I understand logistics need to be worked on. Plus so many over stressed health workers either isolation or just simply worn out right now even that side of the end logistics is difficult.
But when i can walk into a local, order a drink, face whover is next to me and ask hows the craic? Then we are somewhere.
But we have to be real. This vaccine is no silver bullet. All going well it will save lives. But still we need not loose the runnof ourselves. Still need these lovk downs. Still need to be aware of mutations. Threats to vaccines. But most importantly protect the vulnerable.
Its a great day. But its just the start of a long road yet to go.
@Gooster Games: professor luke oneill said the virus mutating is completely normal and will have no effect on the vaccines……..
@George Tobin: i think there are 16,000 to 20,000 potential different strains and the changes are tiny. So at this time there is no evidence that any change affects the areas the vaccine blocks enough to prevent it working. It is not just one new virus or major change. It could be that at some time in the future a new vaccine will be needed. I read that now that the process is in place for this type of vaccine that a new one could be manufactured in 6 weeks to tackle a significantly altered spike protein. It would be nice to add this to fighting SARS and MERS and maybe other deadly viruses.
Wow enough for one dose for 0.2 percent of the population!
@John Lyons: Covid is no worse than a mild flu for most of the population – a vast majority of this would not even know they have / carry this. We may only need a tiny percentage to vaccinate the vulnerable and health staff – this may be enough to drastically affect the hospitalisation / ICU / mortality figures.
Cases may continue until many are vaccinated, but the affect on society could be seen very soon – hopefully!
@John Lyons: Clown.
@Stephen Mulgrew: you certainly sound like one if that’s the best response you can come up with
@John Lyons: True, but my thinking is my 82yo mam in a care home is hopefully at the beginning of the queue and one step safer.
What happened to the 4 trucks that came a few weeks ago?
@Colm Beck: Jaysus Wept ! They were Freezers .
Waiting for the story to break where TDs get the jab early. Right now they’re breaking it out in the Dail bar.
Optics and a photo op
Great to see a few vaccine doses finally arriving but why are we waiting until Wednesday to start vaccinating people?
Hope it works now.
I just hope that’s people who is getting vaccinated will tell in media any side effect. Anyway we have New Variant of the virus. And here is a one little
Things Why Media didn’t say any information about 50000 people where Pifzer testing on vaccin I don’t believe this company
Honest question ?if the cabinet were exposed to a member having Covid-19 thought they required to all be self isolated so how is he doing PR photos op?
Hope it works now.
Why so slow
Don’t know why the clown Donnelly is grinning in the photo op,as soon as the spotlight is of the virus he along with Mehole will be seeking employment outside of politics.
Why is everyone moaning? It’s a wonderful day
Taught he supposed to be isolating ??
Optics and a photo op
Put Martin and Leo in one of the freezers.
Aren’t they being produced In Pfizer in Grange Castle?
@James Lyons: Belgium
Great news !! It’s a start and we need take any positive !!
Let’s see government roadmap for reopening now against the % of vaccines administered and the decreasing risk to the vulnerable.
Full plan by % uptakes against reducing restrictions, up to back to normality would be great to see and would lead to higher update of vaccines of those in less vulnerable categories IMO.
And please god people/Govt/nphet(all of us) can stop the constant blaming and biting at each other and actually come together on the way out of this.
Give us the plan and we will follow !! 6 months , 12 months, 5 years (normality fingers crossed)
Glad the vaccine is here, but I read or heard that it takes 12 minutes to prepare for vaccination
So who is telling the truth about the vaccine, as I need it badly just like you.
A former vice-president of respiratory research at Pfizer has controversially highlighted what he describes as a potential risk that company’s vaccine Will cause infertility in women.
Dr. Michael Yeadon’s claim.
@Laz Mahon: you mean Dr Yeadon who hasn’t worked for Pfizer for 9 years and said there was no need for a vaccine because the pandemic is practically over?
Should you have a blood test prior the jab?
Wait for the big $h!t show now
10,000!!! Whooopee. About enough to inoculate a few small estates.
Gizz us a sho’!
Anyone know what the state are paying per dose?
Surely we could have negotiated more? If you look at what the British got, if you multiply this x 10 as they are 10 times bigger this is a pitiful amount if you compare like for like. Great to have this dont get me wrong but we need like a 200,000 minimum to protect those in nursing homes and frontlines workers.
10,000 vaccines @ two per person equals 5,000 people. New Cases are running at over a thousand a day, I suppose it is a start but we need many more before we can talk about exiting lockdown.
have your say