GP Chair argues that all front-line medical staff and nursing home residents must be vaccinated by the end of February

The GP president of the Irish Medical Institution claims that all FRONTLINE medical staff and nursing home residents must be vaccinated by the end of February.

However, Dr. Denis McCauley also warned that GPs and pharmacists could be forced to wait for the Moderna vaccine before being able to participate in national expansion.

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It said TD Dennis Nauten retired, while another GP said the population could be vaccinated within 6-9 months and would be “all hands-on decks” during deployment. I asked him to bring him back to help his health care workers. ..

How the government is this week COVID-19 Vaccines are spread nationwide.

Dr. McCawley spoke with the Irish Sun on Sunday, saying he expects the first two vaccine allocation groups to be completed by March.

He states: “The first two groups are nursing home patients and healthcare professionals, so general practitioner surgery is not immediately used.

Initial plan

“So the first 200,000 or so doses go to them first. It all depends on the consistency of the subsequent supply.

“But with proper planning, you can be sure that the first two groups are happening very quickly. February, mid-term or end.

“Healthcare workers are straightforward, and if the vaccine is flexible, the rest of the health care workers will attack as well.”

Dr. McCauley said the role of GP in the initial deployment is determined by the logistical limitations of the Pfizer vaccine.

He explained: “Stored at -70 ° C. When they thaw it, it can stay in the refrigerator for 5 days.

“So the question is how far we can extend it from a central source before it stops working.”

Mass vaccine clinic

He continued. “If supply is stable, nursing homes and healthcare professionals will be categorized by the end of February. After that, other groups will depend on how Pfizer vaccines handle manual treatment.

“Pharmacists are most likely to have to wait for the Moderna vaccine because of the model they normally use for vaccines. If the GP knows that 400 vaccines will come on Tuesday morning, then on Tuesday night. You will be vaccinated.

“But the classic way pharmacists have done is to give it when someone comes to look for a vaccine. They usually don’t run large clinics.

“Therefore, if the Pfizer vaccine is transportable, doctors will target the target group of mass vaccine clinics. Some very large pharmacists can probably do this, but in general. It’s not the model they use. “

GPS is greatly involved

“If the Pfizer vaccine is manageable, we will provide it to a subgroup of the mass vaccination program, but if not, we will have to wait for the Moderna vaccine.”

The government’s vaccine program plan, which will be announced on Tuesday after being reviewed by the Cabinet, will outline the role that doctors, pharmacists and public health nurses will play in managing them.

Dr. Nuala O’Connor said he hoped the GP would be deeply involved in the deployment of the Covid-19 jab and predicted that the vaccine could be given in clinics, schools and even at work. ..

The leader of the Irish College of General Practitioners Covid-19 said there was no “universal” model and predicted that eligible populations would be vaccinated within nine months at the latest.

Regarding Newstalk Breakfast, she said: “Anyone who is trained and licensed to make intramuscular injections in this country actually needs to be involved in this vaccine.”

Workplace vaccine

She continued. “One size is not enough for all. Obviously, if you are a nursing home, you will need to visit a nursing home. This may involve a GP or pear nurse vaccinated person.

“We have a school vaccination team. After that, a certain amount of vaccination will be given at their GP. Especially because it is registered with us, it is an elderly cohort. Over 85s, 70 Over teens. Next, people with certain chronic diseases.

“Then when we descend to healthier people. Maybe it will be a mixture of GPs, pharmacists and some mass vaccination clinics.

“There may be vaccinations at work. There are a range of options.

“Not everything will happen in January. It will take six to nine months before we can provide vaccinations to all targeted people.”

Record-breaking backlog

The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine will arrive in Ireland within 7 to 10 days of approval by the European Medicines Agency.

Independent TD Dennis Nauten yesterday called on the government to bring back retired medical staff to help deploy the vaccine.

Deputy Director Roscommon-Galway said the move would eliminate the need to separate existing medical staff from the vast amount of untreated material created by the pandemic blockade.

He states: “We have already experienced record backlogs within the healthcare system, and the last thing we need is to be separated from dealing with the horrific delays in implementing this important vaccination program. That is.

“with some reason HSE Retired staff, staff responding to the “Call to Ireland” campaign, and Wehrmacht capabilities were not available until the last moment. In this case, this would not happen unless the government instructed the HSE to take such an approach to the vaccination program.

“Thousands of people in pain and children who have been waiting for service for years have been unable to take decisive action by the government and have frontline staff focus on their responsibilities before Covid. If you don’t make sure, I won’t thank this government. “

National database

Another potential hurdle to vaccine deployment is the lack of a single national database that GPs and pharmacists can access to find out if someone already has the vaccine or its dose.

Earlier this week, HSE Chief Paul Reid will create a new system that will allow people to self-register online to get Covid-19 jabs and provide data on monitoring and tracking of vaccinated people. Said.

However, pharmacist and former Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell is not keen on the idea of ​​creating a new IT system before deployment and believes it can improve the systems currently in place.

At the RTE Brendan O’Connor Show, former Dublin Bay South TD said: “It seems like a strange time now, given the great difficulty in software with unique patient IDs over the last few years. Implement the changes.

“In my opinion, existing systems can be made more robust and easier, but also general practitioners and people working in pharmacies are familiar with current systems.

“It’s like adding something else to your mix. I don’t understand why the system isn’t completely changed and not enhanced.”

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