A plan recently agreed between the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the HSE will see GPs administer vaccines to about 490,000 people aged over 70 in the coming months.

People aged over 85 will be the first cohort to receive their vaccination in the community, with the rollout due to begin next week.

I’m over 85; when will I be contacted for a vaccine? Who will contact me?

Hospital Report

Roughly 72,000 people aged over 85 and living in the community will be invited by their local GP to receive their vaccine over the coming weeks. GPs’ surgeries are taking charge of the administration and will notify patients of their vaccine appointments. Vaccines are due to arrive at GP clinics and vaccination centres from Monday, February 15th.

Dr Denis McCauley, chairman of the IMO GP committee, said many family doctors had already made contact with patients in this group to get them to pre-register. GPs did not yet have confirmation of exact delivery dates for their clinics, he said, adding: “As soon as the GP knows the vaccine delivery date, they will contact the patient to arrange consent and time.”

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Dr Jonathan Egan, of Carrick Medical Centre in Co Leitrim, said his clinic had begun to sort patients into age categories but had not yet notified the over-85 group of appointments.

“It is looking like this will be last minute. We are waiting to get more information to see what vaccines we are getting when. Only then can we begin to book people in,” he said, adding that he expected further clarity in the coming days.

Will I have it done at my GP clinic or at a vaccination centre?

The majority of older people will receive the vaccine at their GP practice. However, if your GP practice has fewer than 200 people over the age of 70 – some 400 practices – on its register, you will be asked to attend a GP-run vaccination centre or a larger GP clinic in your area.

There will be three GP-led vaccination hubs for administering the vaccine to the over-70s, with the first to be opened at the Helix theatre at Dublin City University where patients attached to 121 practices across the capital will receive their vaccines. The other centres are to be established in Cork and Galway. Outside of urban centres, GP clinics with fewer than 200 patients over 70 will “buddy up” with a larger neighbouring practice. Even if you are asked to attend a vaccination centre or neighbouring GP practice, invites, booking and registration will still be handled by your own GP clinic.

What social distancing arrangements are in place at the centres?

GP clinics have been operating throughout the pandemic, albeit with a reduction in face-to-face appointments. Dr Greg Kelly, of the Kelly Henry Medical Centre in Co Roscommon, said all precautions were being taken to ensure patients were safe from the virus and appointments were staggered to ensure minimal social contact. He said patients would be kept under supervision for 15 minutes after receiving their vaccines.

Mass vaccination centres will operate with lanes and booths to ensure social distancing can be followed. Photos of the vaccination centre established at Cork City Hall show each vaccination booth is partitioned to minimise social contact.

I have mobility problems and I have been cocooning for months. Can I get my GP or vaccinator to come to my house?

The HSE’s chief clinical officer, Dr Colm Henry, said on Monday that vaccinators would travel to people’s homes if “absolutely necessary”. Meanwhile, HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said transport could be arranged to bring some older people to clinics using local authorities or the Defence Forces. Mr Reid said the HSE was considering ways the vaccines could be brought to people’s homes and promised people who were immobile at home that they “will not be left behind”.

Which vaccine will I get? What is the difference between Pfizer and Moderna?

Patients will not be offered a choice between the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine, which have both proved to be effective in older adults. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan last week advised that over-70s be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines rather than the Oxford AstraZeneca shot, as there was a lack of data around its effectiveness in older age groups.

Both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines require two doses to achieve full immunity. Both vaccines use a new messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology that sends genetic instructions to the body’s cell to produce antibodies for coronavirus. Both have proven to be successful in preventing severe illness in the vast majority of cases. Data from clinical trials show two injections of the Pfizer vaccine offer 95 per cent protection against Covid-19, while Moderna’s two-dose vaccine is 94.5 per cent effective.

When will I have my second vaccine and how will that be arranged?

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both require two doses spread about 28 days apart. Doctors hope everyone over 85 will have received their first Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine by March 8th, with the second dose given out a month after the first. Again, it will fall to GP practices to organise and schedule doses, so people awaiting their second vaccine should expect to be notified by their local doctor.

I’m in the next age bracket - 70 to 84. When will I be vaccinated?

As much as is practical, doctors should work their way down the age categories, beginning with the over-85s, then 80-84, 75-79, and finally the 70-74 cohort, according to Dr Henry.

Dr Henry said there would be “parallels” and “overlaps” between these groups, as first and second doses were administered. All GPs will be encouraged to work through their list of people over the age of 70 “as quickly as possible”, he said.

Speed and safety are the primary aims, so a practice that completes the over-85s ahead of schedule should continue “right through their list of over-70s”. He added that Ireland’s supply of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will “easily” cover the over-70 age groups. He said everyone over the age of 70 should have received their first dose by mid-April and their second dose by mid-May.