Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has announced the order in which different sections of society will receive a Covid-19 vaccine. The minister has also announced that there "should be no barrier to people accessing a vaccine", and therefore the vaccine programme will be available free of charge to everyone in Ireland. The Covid-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy was based on a Department of Health and National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) paper which sets out a provisional priority list of groups for vaccination once a safe and effective vaccine has received authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). "Of course, the safety and effectiveness of vaccines is our absolute priority and any Covid-19 vaccine administered in Ireland will have to be authorised by the European Medicines Agency. "Under the plan, healthy 18-64-year-olds who are not healthcare or essential workers will be among the last to receive a vaccine, before children and adolescents."

Source: Irish Examiner December 08, 2020 12:44 UTC