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08th Jan 2021

3.3 million additional doses of Covid-19 vaccine to be supplied to Ireland as part of new EU deal

Conor Heneghan

pfizer vaccine

Delivery of the new doses of the vaccine will begin in the second quarter of this year.

Ireland is set to receive 3.3 million additional doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine as part of an EU deal confirmed on Friday to secure an additional 300 million doses.

The European Commission has proposed to EU Member States to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the vaccine, with an option to acquire another 100 million doses.

In total, the deal will enable the EU to purchase 600 million doses of the vaccine, which is already being administered in EU countries, including Ireland.

As part of the deal, according to the head of Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccine taskforce, Professor Brian MacCraith, Ireland is set to receive an additional 3.3 million doses of the vaccine, which will be delivered in the second quarter of this year.

Earlier this week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine for use in the EU.

880,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been ordered for Ireland, with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar saying it will enable 10,000 more people to be vaccinated in Ireland per week.

As of Thursday afternoon (7 January), 15,314 Covid-19 vaccines had been administered in Ireland with a view to reaching 35,000 by the end of this week.

Six healthcare workers will also receive the Covid-19 vaccine live on The Late Late Show tonight.

The EU says it has secured up to 2.3 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines from the most promising vaccine candidates for Europe and its neighbourhood.

In addition to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, other vaccines are expected to be approved soon, which the EU says will enable it to not only cover the needs of its whole population, but also to supply vaccines to neighbouring countries.

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