30,000 People Still Not Fully Vaccinated in Residential Care Facilities
NB
Please see PQ attached
On foot of a parliamentary question response, Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has found out that 30,000 people are still not fully vaccinated in Residential Care Facilities.
An Teachta Tóibín:
“I received a response from the HSE that details Vaccines still being administered in Nursing Homes to this day. This is two months on from the Minister’s own deadline of the end of January. Most probably, these vaccinations will drag into April. The PQ response states ‘Dose 1 vaccination for cohort 1 is almost complete across the country.’ It then states that as of the 21st of March the total number Dose 1 vaccination administered is 107,168 while 77,056 people have received their Dose 2. This means that a balance of 30,000 people between staff and residents within the Residential Care Home Setting are not fully vaccinated."
"This poses significant risks and challenges. Firstly the Nursing Home sector as been the most exposed right through this pandemic. More people have died in these institutions in a shorter period of time than any other institutions in the history of the state. The crisis that unfolded in our Care Homes demands a full scale investigation. Given all that has happened, many people will be shocked that as we enter April there is 30,000 people still awaiting their second Vaccine in these Care Homes. It also means that there that Nursing Home visits that have been cancelled for months will remain off limits for thousands of people. This is heart breaking given how much people have suffered from isolation in the Nursing Homes."
"Plans are being put in place to ensure that new residents will be vaccinated by early May. By that time, perhaps all current residents will have been vaccinated as well. The Minister continues not to meet vaccine targets or properly protect our most vulnerable. Two months on from his promise deadline, there are nursing home residents waiting on a second dose. This is simply unacceptable and continues to put the lives of our most vulnerable at risk.”
PQ 16649-21 Deputy Tobin