“The setback in relation to the AstraZeneca vaccine will not throw the entire vaccination programme off track and the county vaccination centre in Roscommon will open as scheduled this week”.
That’s according to Roscommon Fianna Fail senator Eugene Murphy.
“The decision to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over safety concerns in relation to blood clots has obviously caused huge concern amongst the public but I would reassure people that the vaccination programme will still stay on track and I would be confident that there will be plenty of vaccines available by the summer and we are still on schedule in that regard,” said Senator Murphy.
The Fianna Fáil Senator for Roscommon/Galway urged members of the public to stay the course and to continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines. “We are all weary of the restrictions but the end is in sight and there will be a large percentage of the population vaccinated by the summer months so I would urge people to stay the course. I would be hopeful that construction will re-open in April and consideration will be given to relaxing the 5km travel restrictions and I would also be hopeful that some level of sports training could also resume,” said Senator Murphy.
The Fianna Fáil Senator was also highly critical of the large gatherings which had been witnessed at a funeral in County Leitrim and a wedding in Salthill in recent days and he noted: “There can’t be one rule for some members of society and another rule for others – we all need to be in this together and stay the course.”
Senator Murphy noted however that he would like to see the numbers attending funerals being increased to 25 as he said it was very difficult for grieving families to “pick and choose who could attend a small funeral.”
