Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher believes that the Department of Health should actively seek advice from NIAC on providing a booster dose to anyone who received a single dose vaccine earlier this year.
“It no coincidence that the huge growth in case numbers among under 30s is linked to the majority of this age group having received the single dose vaccine in late summer," added the European Parliament's Public Health Committee member.
“Only today, the Californian Department of Health announced that, two months post the single dose vaccine, people are now eligible for a booster shot of an mRNA vaccine.
“We need to hit the virus where it is growing the most. Of course, we should not forget about healthcare workers or the most vulnerable, but we also need to break the transmission chains among our young people.
“From what I can see, vaccine availability is no longer an issue. We should be looking at how we provide the booster dose to the 236,000 people who received the single dose vaccine.
“We always knew that the single dose vaccine would provide less protection against this virus than the other three in use in Ireland. Now is the time to revisit this population and increase their protection levels.
“Obviously government must wait for NIAC advice but the Government can start the process by seeking advice immediately,” concluded Kelleher.