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The UK should share any spare coronavirus vaccinations with Ireland, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.
Ms McDonald said a spirit of “generosity and solidarity” on vaccine sharing should extend globally.
She was asked on Sky News if she would like to see excess UK doses being diverted to the State , given the slower pace of vaccine rollout in the EU.
“Certainly if there is an excess of supply in Britain and if there is a capacity for that to be shared with Ireland at some point, well, yes, of course, absolutely, the project here is to get people vaccinated,” she replied.
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“This is a race against this virus and against death so, yes, I think a spirit of fairness and generosity needs to prevail in this, my goodness, above all other issues.
“So, yes, is the answer, and if the scenario were vice versa I would expect that a similar generosity would be afforded to the British people because the virus doesn’t care about politics or borders or any of these things.”
“We all share the same human biology and it’s just so important that the incredible work that has been done by scientists internationally, including at Oxford University, and across the globe, that the fruits of that endeavour and knowledge and expertise is shared in the way that good science would intend, and that means keeping all of our fellow human citizens safe and alive and well.”
No plans
However there are no plans to buy Covid-19 vaccines outside the EU process, the Department of Health confirmed this week, while it remains unclear if surplus UK doses could be imported into the State.
Although health authorities here are administering vaccines as quickly as supplies arrive, the Department of Health says it does not intend to seek additional supplies from outside the EU framework. The department also confirmed that it is not prevented by EU rules from seeking supplies from companies outside the EU portfolio.
The EU has been widely criticised for the speed of its vaccination rollout, with the UK and US vaccinating people at a quicker pace. A UK government minister said last weekend that when the country has surplus stocks, it could transfer some to Ireland.
“You cannot say at the moment whether it would be legal or illegal,” a European Commission spokesman said of the proposal. “The question of legality depends on the case at the time.”
The spokesman said such a move could involve shipping “unauthorised products” into the EU.
“Whether Ireland could rely on one of the derogations in the legislation that allows for the use of unauthorised medicines would depend on the situation at that point in time [FOR EXAMPLE], a scarcity with regard to the product that has been authorised in the EU,” he said.
First batches
The first batch of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Ireland on Saturday. The 21,600 jabs, which were transported from Belgium, will be given to healthcare workers from Monday.
In a tweet Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said it was a "big day" as he posted a video showing a refrigerated lorry reversing at the facility.
Ireland is using the two other approved vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna, to vaccinate the over-70s.
Doctors hope to have all over 85s vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna by March 8th with second jabs administered exactly a month after the first shot, Dr Denis McCauley , chair of the GP committee of the IMO said on Saturday.
A number of large-scale vaccination clinics are to be established in Dublin, Cork and Galway under new plans .
The first of these clinics will be set up at Dublin City University (DCU) where patients attached to 121 practices across the capital will receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. However most patients over the age of 70 will still receive the Covid vaccine from their own family doctor practice. - PA