Covid-19 vaccination rollout: timeline, priority listing and vaccine availability

The first Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech will be administered in Ireland on December 30th, with an initial shipment of almost 10,000 doses due in the country on St Stephen's Day, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has confirmed.

Frontline healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be vaccinated first, he confirmed. “My focus in the first instance is getting our frontline healthcare workers protected; getting into nursing homes, getting those most vulnerable protected because...then we can have a different conversation about opening up,” he said.

The next shipment – of “tens of thousands of doses” – is due in the first week of January, and will be followed by similar shipments every week after that, he said.

It is envisaged by the HSE that frontline healthcare workers and 30,000 nursing home residents will be vaccinated, having received the required two doses, by the end of January.

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Beyond that, Mr Donnelly said it was intended to have an accelerated rollout using a range of vaccines procured by the European Union, by working through the priority list drawn up by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) as quickly as possible.

There were an additional four vaccines in the pipeline though they have to secure approval by the European Medicines Agency. Under a national plan, the State is due to acquire 14 million doses of at least five different vaccines during 2021.

The likely initial vaccine range is:

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine: It is already being administered in the United Kingdom and United States. More than 128,000 people were administered the jab this week in the US, though the FDA is investigating reasons behind a small number of people showing allergic reactions to the shot. This prompted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to warn anyone who had a severe reaction to a Covid-19 vaccine not to get the second dose – the vaccine is already confirmed as safe for the vast majority of people.

Moderna vaccine: The EU has ordered a further 80 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and brought forward plans to assess the shot for approval in Europe. The EMA is to issue its verdict on conditional marketing authorisation on January 6th. Once approved, Mr Donnelly confirmed Ireland would move quickly to deploy that vaccine immediately.

Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine: This is likely to get approval in the UK this month with rollout there from early 2021. It is understood Irish health authorities expect it will get EU approval in January. More like a standard vaccine, it will be considerably easier to administer as it does not require very cold storage as is the case with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna jabs, which are new mRNA vaccines.

It is expected that approval for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine currently in phase 3 clinical trials involving 45,000 people will be sought in the first half of 2021.

Priority list

After frontline healthcare workers and nursing home residents are vaccinated, people over 70; other healthcare workers not in direct patient contact, people aged 65 to 69 and other “key workers” will be vaccinated in that order.

This will be followed by people aged 18 to 64 years with certain medical conditions; who are residents of long-term care facilities, and living or working in crowded settings.

Next to be immunised will be key workers in essential jobs who cannot avoid a high risk of exposure; people working in education, people aged 55 to 64, other workers in occupations important to the functioning of society and those aged between 18 and 54.

It is expected that young people under 18 and pregnant women will be allowed to get the vaccine as there is some evidence showing “safety and efficacy”. This will be closely monitored as rollout accelerates around the world.

NIAC is due to issue vaccination guidelines tomorrow for health professionals, and is likely to recommend only those that have shown a strong allergic reaction should not receive a vaccine.

HSE chief Paul Reid welcomed the EMA’s decision to give conditional marketing authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Monday, which enabled rollout of a national vaccination programme in Ireland.

“Our health service teams, staff, experts and suppliers will be playing a central role in many aspects of rolling out this national programme,” he said.

“While this development is very positive and offers some hope at the end of what has been a very tough year for many people, it is really important that all of us keep in mind that the vaccine is not our first line of defence against Covid-19 for now, nor will it be for some time to come,” he underlined.

He added: We’ve seen how quickly an increase in cases can translate to illness, to pressures in our hospitals and to pressures in Intensive Care Units. For now everyone in Ireland should focus on maintaining the prevention and protective actions that have become part of how we are all working and living.”

The priority list is available on the Government website.