Concerns have been raised that people in the 60-70 age group may have lower protection against the Indian variant of Covid-19 following the latest UK research data.
In the Dáil Labour leader Alan Kelly called for Ireland to follow the example of Britain and shorten the waiting time for the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for that age group from 12 to eight weeks.
Mr Kelly, who is also his party’s health spokesman, said the UK reported that that the first dose of AstraZeneca provided just 30 per cent protection against the variant, but 80-90 per cent with the second jab up to 12 weeks later.
It was a serious concern he said because among all cohorts so far vaccinated the 60-70 age group would have the lowest level of protection and the longest waiting time for their second dose.
Expressing his amazement about the number of people in the 60-70 group who had contacted him about their concerns, he called on the Government to follow Britain “and shorten the waiting time for the second doses, or alternatively to offer the Pfizer vaccine as a second jab to boost their protection against the variant”.
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee would be sought, but said he was not in favour of change unless the health advice recommended it.
He explained that this was because the vaccination programme was running well and there had already been a lot of changes in the advice on this vaccine.
“We will have to defer to the public health advice,” he said.
The Labour leader raised the issue in the wake of the increase in cases in Limerick which showed 272 people with the virus last week of whom 73 had the B1.617.2 variant, known as the Indian variant.
He said “it’s obviously something that’s spreading”.
“Those who receive the AstraZeneca vaccine must wait at least 12 weeks to get their second dose. That’s three months.”
That age cohort “will be at the greatest risk of ending up in hospital”, he said as noted the UK’s response which was to drop the waiting time by four weeks.
Minister ‘concerned’
The Minister acknowledged that the Indian variant was a particular concern with 128 cases by the end of last week. But he added that “the numbers are not huge and, while we still have to keep an eye on every such spike, it has not been in that older age category in Limerick”.
But he added: “I’ll be honest and say that I’d be slightly concerned that we minimise the level of change unless there is a very clear public health argument in favour of it as the vaccination programme is working well now.
“One of the real difficulties they’ve had is constant changes in the rollout programme which makes it difficult for them, especially with regard to the AstraZeneca vaccine, because we know that has been the most variable in terms of delivery.
“Saying anything with certainty on AstraZeneca at the moment might give false hope, because we have not had a clear, absolutely certain delivery timetable for it at any stage over the past six months.”
Mr Ryan added: “I will present the argument to the relevant experts but I can’t commit to taking up your advice.”
He also said that in relation to international travel, the vast majority of the 60-70 age group would have been vaccinated by the projected timeline of three months for its return.
