Doctors in Co Kerry say they are being left without Covid-19 vaccines for patients in the over-70s age group who were scheduled to start coming to surgeries across the county next week.
The GPs were told by the Health Service Executive that their expected deliveries – mainly of the Pfizer vaccine – would not be arriving as expected.
Killarney GP Dr Gary Stack said there was “no warning, no explanation” from the HSE as to why this was the case. While there was an anticipated shortage at the end of March, there was no expectation the rollout would be affected this month, he said.
Sixty doses of the Pfizer vaccine being sent for people aged over 80 to receive a second dose were due to his practice, as were 155 doses for those over70, he said. However, he had been told that only the 60 second doses would arrive.
Dr Stack said he had been left short of 30 doses already for those in the older cohort to receive a first shot, but that has not been made up either. He told Radio Kerry he had checked with five other GPs in Killarney, Cork and Kilkenny and all had the same story to tell.
“We have tried to interact with the HSE but without success. We have no explanation,” he said. GPs were also being asked to identify high-risk patients because the hospitals cannot, he said.
The HSE said “regrettably, vaccine allocation remains limited by supply”. It said there were “higher numbers” in the over-70 age group and a limited volume of vaccines available for allocation. It acknowledged the vital role that more than 3,000 GPs from 1,300 practices were playing in the vaccine rollout.
“The HSE provides GPs with allocations at least one week in advance of delivery. The HSE expects to be in a position to advise the GP of allocations for week commencing April 12th in the coming days,” it said.
Fridge
Meanwhile, up to 10 vials of vaccine delivered to a residential mental health centre in in Letterkenny, Co Donegal could not be used after they became “unfit for purpose”.
Family members of people due for vaccination at Cleary House alleged that the vials were incorrectly stored in a fridge at the centre and that they understood that up to 100 shots were destroyed in the incident last month.
The HSE said some vaccines had to be disposed of after an “incident” which it confirmed related to a “technical issue” with a fridge.
“We regret that this incident has taken place. An incident report has been completed and all necessary processes will be followed to ensure there is no reoccurrence,” it said.
“It is important to note that all service users scheduled for the clinic (33 in total) still received their vaccine at the clinic and that this incident did not impact on them.”