A DUNGARVAN pharmacist says he hopes to have vaccine stocks in place and ready for roll-out for 12-15 year olds by mid next week.
Darragh Connolly, who is also Ex-Officio President of the Irish Pharmacy Union, says there are a few 'i's to dot, and t's to cross' on the scheme - including on consent - for young teens but he expects further clarity in the coming days.
The portal for online registration, he expects, will be up and running tomorrow or Friday. And his pharmacy already has a waiting list, he says, of children in this age bracket from parents who are keen to get them vaccinated.
Darragh Connolly, of Haven Pharmacy Connolly's Dungarvan, was speaking to Maria McCann on Deise Today this morning, on foot of a story in the 'Irish Independent' reporting that evening and weekend clinics will be available in a bid to boost the vaccine roll-out to 280,000 children aged 12-15 years.
Hundreds of pharmacist have signed up to give the jab to this age group - in addition to jabs being provided at HSE vaccination centres - and officials are aiming to make the process as convenient as possible for parents in a bid to encourage take-up.
Darragh Connolly said pharmacists are "really excited" to be involved in bringing the roll-out of the vaccine to the next level by vaccinating children and making things as safe as possible for the return to school.
"We are already one of the top countries for getting people vaccinated and the uptake from the public has been brilliant," he said. "We are literally world beaters as far as uptake is concerned."
He has had many conversations, he said, with parents and the majority of them really want their children to be vaccinated. The roll-out in this age group had already happened, very successfully, in other countries including Canada and Israel.
He said he was expecting to have vaccine delivery to his pharmacy for this age group mid next week.
"We are really keen to get this started because if we can get started this week or early next week, then the second vaccination will be in September which is a good start for the school year for children aged 12 to 15."
The Dungarvan pharmacist said those over 16 (who don't need the consent of an adult) can still avail of the walk-in vaccination centres and he would encourage all to "not hang around" and get their first vaccine as soon as possible.
