Cork pharmacies flooded with vaccine calls as young people urged to 'grab a jab'

PHARMACIES across Cork have been flooded with phone calls following news of the expansion of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, although some had little time to prepare.

Stephen Donnelly, the health minister, announced yesterday that those aged 18 to 34 could access a Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine from pharmacies from Monday.

Keith O’Hourihane, superintendent pharmacist at Pharmacy First Plus Cork, said there had been huge interest among that cohort since the announcement.

He found out about the changes when a patient sent him a link to a news article yesterday morning.

“Phones lit up in our pharmacies,” he said. “By 9.20am, one of our pharmacy managers messaged me to say all the phones were ringing and every time they hung up, it was another call with the same.”

By noon, they had more than 10 times as many people registered than they had for the last two weeks.

“It’s brilliant and it’s great. However, the logistics around it are a bit of a challenge.

“Vaccine-wise, I wasn’t prepared to turn up to work to see that and hear that the minister had changed [the registration age] to 18,” he said.

Despite the challenges, he said the announcement was positive news. “If I had heard [the day before], I could have prepared ourselves a bit more maybe, but I don’t really mind.”

“We’ll get to it, so patients just need to bear with us, but I’m ecstatic,” said Mr O’Hourihane. “I think it’s great.”

Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould criticised the lack of clarity for pharmacies, but said it was an “extremely welcome” development.

“Any announcement that speeds up our vaccine programme and return to normality is to be welcomed,” he said.

Half an hour after yesterday’s announcement, Murphy’s Pharmacy on North Main St was fully booked for the next three weeks.

Mick Scully, who runs the pharmacy, said the phones were “hopping”.

He said he was “delighted” to see the announcement and had people contacting them over the last week in anticipation of a change to the programme.

“Once the announcement came that they were going to be opening it up, the inquiries have been flooding in,” he said.

While they were expecting the changes, Mr Scully said they were not sure when they would be implemented.

“I’m just glad that it’s there now and we can crack on with it,” he said.

Mr Donnelly told the Dáil that the changes would mean that the 18- to 34-year-old age group have the option of being vaccinated one to two months early.

Those aged 18-34 will also be able to register from Monday, July 12, for an appointment during July for a Janssen or AstraZeneca vaccine through the mass vaccination centres.

Registration for an mRNA vaccine for those aged 30-34 will begin on Friday, July 9. Those aged 34 can register that day, while those aged 33 can register on Saturday, July 10, and so on. Online registration for vaccination centres is already open for those aged 35 and older.

Last month, pharmacies began offering the Janssen vaccine to those aged 50-69.

Mr Donnelly said: “Supplies of Janssen and AstraZeneca will be somewhat limited during July, but we expect that supplies will be able to accommodate a significant number of this age group through July.”

He said that up to 210,000 Janssen vaccines would be available in July and another 100,000 AstraZeneca jabs would also be available after the outstanding second doses had been administered.

Administration of the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to cohorts awaiting one is due to be completed in the week beginning July 19.

Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O’Sullivan welcomed the decision to allow younger people to get vaccinated and called on them to avail of the opportunity to “grab a jab”.

“I would urge all people between the ages for 18 and 34 to apply now to get a vaccine,” he said. 

“They have played a tremendous part in helping to suppress this terrible virus and they now deserve the chance to grab a jab.”

Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) secretary general Darragh O’Loughlin said there had been huge demand for people looking to receive vaccinations in their local pharmacy.

“The feedback from the thousands of people who have been vaccinated by their local pharmacists so far has been extremely positive,” he said.

The IPU has urged members of the public to make contact with their pharmacy in advance and to be patient, as it will take time for supplies to reach each participating pharmacy.