Deputy Thomas Pringle has today sought commitments from the Minister for Health on a number of issues related to the vaccine roll-out.
Deputy Pringle posed a number of direct questions on the roll-out to Minister Stephen Donnelly in the Dáil today, asking if the minister could provide a yes or no response to each.
The Donegal Deputy has been critical of what he said were the mixed messaging that has come from Government during the Covid crisis, and the confusion that has resulted at times.
Deputy Pringle asked: “Will all housebound people in rural areas be vaccinated by the end of June?”
Minister Stephen Donelly said, “The short answer is yes”, but added one caveat, saying health services are being notified of new people regularly, and when they receive notification those people will be vaccinated as quickly as possible.
But he said people who are housebound that health services are currently aware of will be vaccinated by the end of June.
Deputy Pringle also asked: “I want to know whether all vulnerable people from all counties in Cohort 7 will be vaccinated by the end of June.” Cohort 7 in the vaccine roll-out programme includes people age 16-64 who have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk of severe disease and death.
The Minister said it would be impossible to say whether everybody in Cohort 7 would be vaccinated by that time but said as many as possible will be vaccinated by the end of June.
Deputy Pringle asked: “Will all SNAs and ancillary school staff be vaccinated before September of this year so that schools can restart safely?”
The Minister replied that anyone in that group who wants a vaccine should be fully vaccinated by the end of September.
Speaking later, Deputy Pringle said anyone in Donegal having difficulty securing a vaccine appointment should contact his Killybegs office on 074 974 1880, and they will do what they can to help.
