(Alliance News) - Some 30,000 people due to receive the AstraZeneca PLC Covid-19 jab this week in Ireland will have their vaccinations rescheduled in the next few weeks, the health minister in Dublin has said.
Stephen Donnelly said he hopes most of the people whose vaccines are being deferred will receive their first dose by the end of the month without affecting the rollout of vaccine to other people.
Use of the jab was suspended by Ireland on Sunday as a precaution after reports of serious clotting in adults in Norway which left four people in hospital.
Donnelly said he understood that people were naturally "disappointed" by the deferral of their appointments but that the National Immunisation Advisory Committee and the Health Products Regulatory Authority had acted "decisively and quickly" in response to new information late on Saturday night about the Norway cases.
He added that he had no hesitancy in temporarily suspending use of the AstraZeneca jab and that he hopes it will only be for a short period.
Donnelly told RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme: "Hopefully the 30,000 for this week will be rescheduled very, very quickly.
"So will everybody be done within the time left in March? I'd say pretty close, possibly, maybe there may be a bit of spillover into April, but very, very quickly.
"We should be able to reschedule them and in so doing, not have to delay other people. So in other words, do the 30,000 at the same time as people who we were planning on doing in the coming weeks as well."
By Michelle Devane, PA
source: PA
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.