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NO DECISION ON the use of the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines for the under-50s will be made until the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) issues advice, the Chief Medical Officer has said.
Dr Tony Holohan said he expects to receive an updated recommendation from the committee on the issue in the coming days.
His comments follow the Taoiseach yesterday voicing his support for lowering the age limit on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to ensure no jabs go to waste.
The HSE has asked for “flexibility” to allow the use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Janssen vaccine for people aged under 50.
NIAC has previously recommended that the Janssen and AstraZeneca jabs are not to be given to people under 50 amid concerns over links with rare blood clots.
“I wrote to the National Immunisation Advisory Committee last week, asking for updated advice in relation to the use of the vaccines that are recommended for the over-50s only, in other words, the Johnson and the AstraZeneca. And I expect to receive advice in the coming days,” Dr Holohan told RTÉ’s News At One.
He said the health service was working to get people over the age of 50 and all the high risk groups vaccinated this month.
“We would hope certainly around the end of the month, that we’ve substantially gotten through those groups,” Dr Holohan said.
“Then the question about what happens next in terms of those vaccines arises, and that’s why we need that advice.”
Asked if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were to remain confined to those over 50, whether that would delay the vaccination of those in their 40s, Holohan said at present the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is “not concluding that the we can’t use J&J” and that the advice they receive “might increase the flexibility that we have around that”.
The two-millionth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be administered this week.
As of Saturday a total of 1,827,610 doses of coronavirus vaccine had been given in Ireland. These included 1,327,821 first doses and 499,789 second doses.
Registration is now open for people aged 53 and above.
Dr Holohan said the vaccine uptake rates were very high and he appealed for anyone in the older age groups who had not registered for a vaccine to log onto the HSE portal.
He said the more people that are vaccinated, the greater chance the country has of further restrictions being eased and “getting a return of some of the things that we all dearly want to see returning, the things that we miss”.
Asked whether there could be spectators at this year’s GAA finals, Holohan replied: “I’d really like to think so.
“One of the things that’s going to be important in all of that, as well as keeping the disease at very low levels of transmission through continued observance of all public health measures, will be getting the vaccine uptake as high as possible.”
He added that once it is “appropriate and safe to do so” NPHET would give advice around spectators attending large indoor and outdoor gatherings.
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Isn’t it already like mid December?
@Adam Rekio: It may seem suspiciously like mid-December but don’t let that mislead you because that’s just what they want you to think…
@Adam Rekio: William is right! Don’t just follow all the sheeple who simply swallow what the MSM tell them to! Do your own research. Those scientists and their MSM propagandists want everyone to believe it is mid-December. Take the red pill! You’ll soon wake up to what month it really is!
@Stephen Rogan: They’re shameless and totally amoral in the lies they tell! I don’t believe for a second that Y2K thing will be as bad as they claim and they’re still trying to convince me we had people on the moon. Have you ever seen the moon? It’s tiny even when it’s full! A bit like a brain that’s been fed one too many conspiracy theories really…
@Adam Rekio: nope. 16th pm onwards is mid December
@TomTraubert: onwards until when ? You’re simultaneously saying it’s a point in time rather than a time span, and that it’s a time span (without elaborating) in the same short sentence. Impressive
@William Tallon: LOL
Language like could,may,maybe,might,possible, probably,are what is scaring the life out of our older generation. When have any of the scary predictions on figures actually happened? The government have a hold on people and they don’t want to let go.
And in 6 months time it will be something else becoming dominant.. Why don’t the experts save themselves time and warn us that omicron isn’t the last instead of acting shocked everytime.
Coronavirus March 2020,
Alpha November 2020
Delta July 2021
Omicron November 2021
Anyone see the cycle
@David Lee: was just brought out in time for the Christmas number 1
@Philip McLoughlin: lol
Loads more scaremongering
No one cares
@Rob Gale: we share a border with this country
Has there actually been any deaths reported due to omicron? Or even hospitalisations? This is insanity.
@Hanna Crowe: not really. Insanity is listening to anti-vaxxers and those who do not understand science. A virus can only spread by close human contact. Vaccines prevent serious illness. Simple.
Dominant in 4 days. What’s the R value of this variant, 100?
Thank god for boosters. The WHO would have them sent them to timbuktu if they had the decision
@Peazel: you know more than the health experts, very impressive.
the health experts don’t seem to know a lot about it either if you read what they say about it, they use an awful lot of words like this could happen, this might happen, if this happens, maybe this might happen.
I thought the UK announced two weeks ago that they had beaten Covid with their approach of opening society during summer when people could be outside. And that everyone else’s (meaning Europe’s) had been wrong. What a shower of raving loonies.
@lelookcoco: at the start of the year most people were expecting an open summer, and winter. Vaccines, you know.
And if we banned cars and outdoor activities there would be less deaths…… We going have to assess. A world in which has increasing older population is not comparable to pandemics of yesteryear.
The trouble here is governments around the world think their ahead of the virus when it’s quite the opposite!
If Omicron pretty much goes about undetected then you can bet it’s already infected more than the tracing system has picked up..
Everyone still needs to keep their gaurd up because Delta is still the big bad circulating.
Vaccines work or not?
@Aonghus O Flaherty: Going off what they said last year…Nope.
@Josepi: What did they say last year?
@Aonghus O Flaherty: Yes. If you need proof, campare last January to now, look at the hospital figures, ICU numbers and deaths, and then think about the most important difference: last January we were locked down with only the essentials available. And now the country is open except for nightclubs
The Dup should put up or shut up and mind thier own business
Dr Facebook has arrived in the comments
@DJ François: Welcome:)
So sorry for those that go by way of the virus. For most others, its business as usual with the odd workaround.
have your say