A Fianna Fáil MEP Has Called On The Taoiseach To Ask Joe Biden To Give Ireland Spare COVID Vaccines

He has called on him to use his St Patrick's Day meeting with the President

Billy Kelleher made the call as the US is sitting on tens of millions of doses of AstraZeneca while it awaits further trials.

Seán Defoe reports:

'Tens of millions of doses of the precious vaccine are sitting in storage in the US ahead of further trials, which has led to a queue forming to ask Joe Biden to release them. 

But it's seen as highly unlikely those doses of AstraZeneca will go to the EU even if he does, with the US more likely to prioritise poorer countries struggling to get access. 

AstraZeneca has been dominating the headlines this week.

This afternoon the National Immunisation Advisory Committee said it won't be suspending the use of the vaccine as some countries have amid fears about blood clots in some vaccinated people. 

It's also approved the vaccine for use in over-70s - which would be good news for the roll-out, if AstraZeneca was delivering the amounts it promised.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin is seeking a meeting with the head of the group next week over constantly changing amounts being delivered.

It's also been reported a further 25 per cent cut in the promised supply to the EU could be on the cards. 

If it happens, then AstraZeneca will have failed to deliver 2 out of every 3 vaccines it promised for the first quarter of the year. 

Public and political patience is running low with the under-deliveries, but government Ministers are at pains to point out there's very little they can do to magic up replacement vaccines.'