HSE to continue administering AstraZeneca jab to health workers

The HSE has said it will be administering the AstraZeneca vaccine as the second dose vaccination for healthcare workers.

It said it was operating under guidance it received from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) last month.

Trade unions had sought clarification after Niac, in a letter which emerged on Thursday, suggested the number of very rare type of blood clots linked to the second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine was higher than previously understood.

Unions said that Niac had opened up the question of whether it would be preferable to give a mRNA vaccine, such as Pfizer, as the second dose to people under 50 who had received AstraZeneca as a first dose.

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Unions, who represent tens of thousands of healthcare workers who received an initial dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, sought an urgent meeting with the HSE on Friday.

In a letter on Friday evening to trade unions HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said it was administering second doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine – which is known technically as Vaxzevria – in accordance with Niac guidance which it received on April 27th.

“As you are aware, vaccine supplies have increased in recent weeks and as a result the programme has gained significant momentum. We continue to administer vaccines as quickly as possible once they arrive into the country. While strictly adhering to the government’s provisional allocation sequencing, we are now administering over 250,000 vaccinations per week. As a result of the vaccination programme we have seen a collapse in case numbers, serious illness and deaths in vaccinated population groups, including our frontline healthcare workers. I am writing to confirm our operational plans in relation to Vaxzevria [AstraZeneca vaccine].”

“In accordance with the National Immunisation Advisory Committee guidance received on April 27th, 2021, we are now administering second doses of Vaxzevria, 12 weeks after the first dose for all age groups. We continue to recommend that healthcare workers take the second dose Vaxzevria as offered to them in order to protect them, our patients and the population at large. Good and timely uptake of the second dose of Vaxzevria will be crucial to ensuring that we continue to provide the maximum protection available to our at-risk population groups, which include our frontline healthcare workers at highest risk of exposure to Covid-19 infection. “

Dr Henry said the HSE was aware that Niac monitored new evidence as it emerged and would “continue to provide ongoing guidance based on the available evidence on all aspects of vaccination to ensure the vaccination programme remains safe, effective and evidence based”.