Ireland To Get 300,000 Fewer Doses Of The Astra-Zeneca Vaccine By The End Of March Than Initially Thought

The AstraZenec vaccine has been approved for use across the EU

Ireland is set to get 300 thousand fewer doses of the jab by the end of March than initially thought.

Stephen Murphy has this report for RedFM News:

'It's been described as a game changer - and will now be ready to roll out in Ireland next month. The AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine has been authorised by the European Medicines Agency for people over the age of 18. Executive Director Emer Cooke says it won't be a silver bullet - but is a significant milestone. Ireland was due to get enough doses to vaccinate 700 thousand people by the end of March - it's expected we'll now get enough for 550 thousand due to supply issues. Taoiseach Michael Martin says the most significant roll-out was never going to happen in the first few months of the year. The EMA says although information for over 55s is limited, they do expect the vaccine to give a level of protection to people in that age group. The regulator also says there's no reason to think the jab won't be effective against new strains of the virus - but that it's something they'll be monitoring closely.'