Jan 13 th 2021 ---Irish Times
St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin has defended giving the Covid-19 vaccine to non-frontline staff who were not officially due to receive it until later in the Government’s immunisation plan.
It was responding to claims made by intensive care (ICU) staff to The Irish Times about senior staff members who are not treating patients being given the vaccine last week ahead of some frontline workers.
One member of ICU staff said some senior staff were vaccinated during the first day of immunisation intended for frontline workers. Later that day, it is alleged, a number of ICU staff were refused the vaccine, though all received it later in the week.
Sunday Mirror 4/04/21
SUN, 04 APR, 2021 - 13:28
STEVE NEVILLE
The head of the HSE has said that incidents where there have been breaches to the vaccine queue are “frustrating” and “annoying”.
Paul Reid said that incidents of people skipping the queue to get a vaccine “breaches” the basis of what the programme is about.
He said that the vaccination programme is based on a high level of trust and that the vast majority of the public are waiting their turn.
Mr Reid said that it was “completely wrong” for someone to be vaccinated when they are not exposed to a healthcare setting.
He added that some people working in hospitals who were not in the direct frontline had to be vaccinated to protect hospital settings.
Addressing potential abuses of the internal portal for HSE workers to register for a vaccine, Mr Reid said it was an abuse of trust and not a failing of the portal.
He said that the HSE has strengthened the validation process to make sure legitimate people are getting the jab.
Recent incidents around people outside of the current vaccine priority cohort being vaccinated has caused anger in some parts.
The incident caused great upset among workers who have been treating Covid-19 patients for months during the pandemic, the ICU staff member said.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said the HSE had issued an allocation of doses based on a headcount of staff and that frontline workers were given priority.
“Staff, including the CEO, who in the course of their duties may be on wards or in direct contact with patients and staff are then offered the vaccine, followed by all other staff who in a surge may be redeployed to support frontline staff,” she said.
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The Grand is to be distributed along the lines of the vaccine distribution so if you managed to jump the Q you will be rewarded with a Grand for your endeavours !
