Supply issues that disrupted vaccination of over-85s being addressed, says HSE

Supply issues that disrupted the rollout of vaccines to older GP patients last week are being addressed, according to the HSE and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO).

The problems that affected some GP practices included delayed or deferred deliveries, reduced supplies, a lack of syringes and a lack of notice of deliveries.

Chairman of the IMO GP committee, Dr Denis McCauley, pointed out that the broad aims of this phase of the vaccination rollout – inoculation of over-85s – have been achieved, but he admitted “we almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory”.

Communications issues over the timing and size of deliveries had caused confusion, upset and frustration among a small number of GPs, he acknowledged. However, steps were being taken to rectify the problems that arose last week.

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The HSE has committed to increasing the advance notice of deliveries for GPs to one week from next week. For this week, the short notice period of 24 to 48 hours may apply.

HSE officials have been designated to liaise with individual doctors so that supply and other issues can be quickly ironed out, according to Dr McCauley.

However, deliveries of the Moderna vaccine to some GPs are being cut by 15 per cent after a delay in the shipment of more than 7,000 doses from the company which was due last week, he confirmed.

Medical risk

Two large consignments of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Ireland, comprising more than 25,000 doses, were delayed two weeks ago but the HSE says it has been assured these supplies will arrive later this week.

The programme of vaccinating over-85s is also due to be completed this week, after a small number in this age cohort was not reached during the scheduled three-week timeframe ending last weekend.

More than 1,000 of the 72,000 over-85s remain to be vaccinated, most of them patients at 30 smaller GP practices that did not receive deliveries last week.

Over the three weeks, 92,000 vaccine were administered by GPs, most of them to over-85s and about 10,000 to people in the 80 to 84 year age-group.

This week sees the start of vaccination of people at very high medical risk, including dialysis and cancer patients, and those with immunosuppression issues. Among the first to be vaccinated in this category will be people with Down syndrome.

Although Ireland is likely to follow the example of other European states by reversing the recommendation against the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in older people, this is likely to have little practical benefit at this stage now that the vaccination of this age cohort is well under way.

The vaccination rollout is becoming increasingly complex with patients in four different cohorts now receiving either first or second doses of three different vaccines, each with different storage and transport requirements.

Up to Friday, 513,322 doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been administered in the State; this includes 363,601 people who have received their first dose and 149,721 who have received their second dose.