Infectious diseases expert Dr Gabriel Scally has said the Taoiseach should call UK prime minister Boris Johnson to ask him to share the UK’s stockpile of Covid-19 vaccines.
The UK has 407 million doses of the vaccine, which was enough to inoculate the entire population four times over, Dr Scally told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
“That’s a lot of surplus vaccines,” Dr Scally said.
Ireland was the only country that shared a land border with the UK and a common travel area, so it would be in the interests of the UK to vaccinate Ireland, he said, adding it would be mutually beneficial.
Dr Scally said other EU countries were “doing their own thing”, pointing to Hungary, who are opting to use the Russian Sputnik vaccine.
Variants are on the way, they move far faster than the Irish Government
Multiple new variants in the US were of concern, so it was very clear that there would need to be vaccine capacity for some time, he said.
International travel was of major concern and there would have to be trade-offs, such as if schools were to reopen.
If international travel were to stop then there could be more travel around the country, he added.
“Variants are on the way, they move far faster than the Irish Government,” Dr Scally said.
He also called for better ventilation in supermarkets and for people to wear “proper masks” such as the FFP2 versions where possible.
