The single-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine should be available in Ireland by April and will be a game-changer in the plan to vaccinate the entire population, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Mr Martin said a significant uptick in vaccination supplies from April would see large numbers vaccinated by the end of summer, with all over-70s immune by mid-May.
Cabinet was also told on Tuesday that if AstraZeneca was approved for the 65-69 age group, that cohort could also be vaccinated by mid-May.
“Many people will have been vaccinated by the end of the summer and there is no doubt they will have a different life because of that,” the Taoiseach said in an interview with Seacht Lá on TG4.
Johnson & Johnson applied on Tuesday to the European Medicines Agency seeking authorisation for its single-dose vaccine, paving the way for its availability in Ireland by April.
The regulator announced the application could be processed more quickly than usual as the company had already been submitting data on a rolling basis.
The EU has procured 200 million doses of the vaccine with the option to buy 200 million more, putting Ireland in line for roughly 2.2 million doses.
The Cabinet was also updated on Tuesday on two further Covid-19 vaccines, Novavax and Valneva. The Valneva vaccine has a long shelf life and might find use as a booster shot.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan raised questions during the meeting about the pace of the State’s vaccination rollout, according to The Irish Times.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is said to have expressed confidence during the meeting that up to 1.2 million vaccine doses would be available in this quarter and 4-4.5 million doses in the next.
