Vaccine Rollout Update – 15th April

Vaccine Rollout Update – 15th April – Please Read Carefully

• Over 70s rollout with Pfizer vaccine ongoing – if you are over 70 and have not been contacted by our practice, please contact reception.
• Update to vaccine rollout for patients aged 60-69 – These patients will now be vaccinated with Astra Zeneca in mass vaccine clinics, regardless of risk category and are invited to register on the HSE portal, starting 15th April, please see further information and registration link here
• We will be vaccinating Cohort 4 & 7 aged 18-59 with Pfizer vaccine in General Practice from late April/May – if you feel you are in one of these groups and have not contacted us, please read the eligibility criteria carefully and complete the contact form so we can tell you if you are in Cohort 4 or 7 and include you on our vaccine list
• Please note, we will not be able to accommodate patients in the 60-69 group who would prefer the Pfizer vaccine over Astra Zeneca, there is no choice at present in vaccines and we would encourage everyone to take the vaccine they are offered. Astra Zeneca is proven to be safe and effective, particularly in the population over 60 that it is being rolled out in, we would strongly encourage our patients to take it when offered.

Please note: we are receiving a lot of queries at present, we would be grateful if you could read all the below information before contacting the practice for further information. If you need medical advice regarding whether you should take the vaccine or not or the vaccine you have been oered through the hospital system, please schedule a phone consultation with one of the doctors.

Coronavirus Vaccination Information

Our Covid19 vaccination rollout began on the week of 22nd February and we are currently vaccinating Cohort 3- or patients over 70 years of age. Please read below information on the vaccine rollout for this group and other Cohorts below.

If we have additional quantities of vaccine available, we will contact our most at risk patients in the next age group for vaccination. This may happen at short notice. We have very little flexibility in appointments due to the fragility of the vaccine and the logistics of organizing these clinics.

Please note, the HSE has decided that all patients aged 60-69 (regardless of medical risk) will be vaccinated in HSE vaccination clinics and not General Practice. Please await further news on this from the HSE.

Vaccine Clinic Schedule for Over 70s – Cohort 3

We are currently working through our age groups and our next vaccine clinic weeks are below- if you feel you may have been missed, please contact the clinic to check that we have your details on the system. Please note, if we have additional vaccines upon completing vaccines for an age group, we will invite in high risk patients from the following age group as per HSE protocols. This may happen at short notice so that we do not waste any doses of the vaccine.

Week commencing:

• 19th April – rest of patients 70-74 (dose 1) & patients 75-79 (dose 2) 
• 3rd May – patients 70-74 (dose 2)
• 17th May – rest of 70-74 (dose 2)

Cohort 4 and Cohort 7 GP Vaccination (aged 18-59) – updated 14/04/21

Cohort 4 – late April

From mid-April, our clinic will be supporting the hospital roll-out of Cohort 4 patients to vaccinate those that do not attend the hospital or have not been invited by their hospital teams and who are aged 18-59 (patients 60-69 will be vaccinated in mass vaccination clinics, registration can be made through the online portal). We will start this process with ‘very high risk patients’ and we have been asked to prioritise patients in the following groups:

• Diabetes where the patient has HbA1c > 58mmol/mol in last 12 months
• Obesity where patients have a BMI > 40
• Chronic Respiratory Disease where patient is on home oxygen, pre or post transplantation or with a hospital admission related to disease in past year
• Patients with Prader Willi syndrome

We will have a small amount of capacity for patients who have not yet been vaccinated by their hospital clinics. A full list of qualifying illnesses can be found lower down on this page. If you are in Cohort 4 and have not yet been contacted for vaccination by ourselves or hospital clinic, please complete the form below. Where possible, we would encourage these vaccines to be given in hospital through specialist clinics as originally planned.

Cohort 7 – May

Once Cohort 4 is complete, we will be moving on to the next phase of vaccination in General Practice for patients aged 18-59 with medical conditions that put them at a high risk of severe disease or death. We are waiting on the exact guidance on this cohort, however gov.ie lists the categories of illness as below:

• Cancer – Haematological – within 1 -5 years, Non-haematological – within 1 year. All other cancers on non-hormonal treatment.

• Chronic heart (and vascular) disease – Chronic heart disease, for example: heart failure, hypertensive cardiac disease.

• Chronic kidney disease – Chronic kidney disease with eGFR <30ml/min.

• Chronic liver disease– for example: cirrhosis or fibrosis.

• Chronic neurological disease or condition – Chronic neurological disease or condition significantly compromising respiratory function and/or the ability to clear secretions, for example: Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy.

• Chronic respiratory disease – Other chronic respiratory disease, for example: stable cystic fibrosis, severe asthma (continuous or repeated use of systemic corticosteroids), moderate COPD.

• Diabetes – All other diabetes (Type 1 and 2).

• Immunocompromised – Immunocompromise due to disease or treatment, for example: high dose systemic steroids (as defined in Immunisation Guidelines for Ireland Chapter 3), persons living with HIV.

• Inherited metabolic diseases – Disorders of intermediary metabolism not fulfilling criteria for very high risk.

• Intellectual disability* excluding Down Syndrome (already vaccinated in Cohort4).

• Obesity – BMI >35 Kg/m2.

• Severe mental illness – for example: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression.

If you think you fall into either Cohort 4 or 7, please complete the below form so we can crosscheck your records, confirm the cohort you belong to and ensure you are listed for vaccination if appropriate. Please note, both of the above groups will be vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine, which is 2 doses given 4 weeks apart. There currently is no ability to choose between vaccine types, we would encourage you to take the first vaccine you are offered to ensure you are protected from Coronavirus as soon as possible.

Covid Vaccine Cohort 4 & 7 Contact form

Please complete the following form if you think you qualify for the Covid vaccine in Cohort 4 or Cohort 7 as per the instructions above. We will contact you to confirm your Cohort by text message and invite you for vaccination when the vaccines are available.

Covid Vaccine for Cohort 4 – ‘very high risk patients’

From mid-April GPs will be giving Covid vaccines to patients in Cohort 4 aged 18-59 who have not been identified/invited by their hospital teams. Please note, the vast majority of these patients will be vaccinated in hospital settings and we will have limited vaccines for Cohort 4 patients. Full listings for Cohort 4 from gov.ie website are:

Covid Vaccine: Further Information

There is lots of information available on the HSE and government websites about the covid vaccine rollout and the vaccines being used at the resources below:

• HSE Covid Vaccine website – this is the main hub for HSE information on the Covid vaccine rollout and has information about getting your vaccine, vaccine efficacy, safety and potential side effects

• Information leaflet on Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Comirnaty – also available by clicking on the picture of the leaflet

• Simplified Easy-to-Read vaccine information on Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

• Provisional Vaccine Rollout – Information on the provisional vaccine rollout allocation from Department of Health.

Important Vaccine Clinic Information – please read

• Please arrive at the time of your appointment and no earlier/later – we are running to a strict schedule while adhering to social distancing guidelines. If we are running ahead/behind, we will do out best to contact you accordingly.

• If you need assistance getting to and from the practice for your vaccine, please bring a friend/relative/carer/minder who can assist you with this.

• Please wear clothing that allows easy access to your shoulder, ie a short sleeved shirt/blouse under your jacket.

• This is a vaccine appointment only – we will not be discussing any other medical issues with you, we have to keep to a strict schedule to adhere to social distancing guidelines and required observation periods.

• Following your vaccine, you will be asked to stay in the practice for 15 minutes to monitor for any adverse reactions. If you have a history of anaphylaxis for any cause, you will be asked to remain on site for 30 minutes following the vaccine.

• We will give you an information leaflet on the day, but be assured that these are very safe vaccines. Some people will experience some side effects in the 48 hours after the vaccine, including sore arm, fever, headaches and generalized aches and pains. These can be treated with paracetamol and nurofen and should resolve within 2-3 days. Please note a fever following vaccination is a common expected side effect but if you experience a fever lasting more than 48 hours and/or any symptoms of COVID (cough/ shortness of breath / chest tightness / loss of smell or taste) please contact the clinic.

• If you have a history of anaphylaxis to any vaccine you should let us know. If you think you may be allergic to any component of the Comirnaty vaccine, please let us know, as you may not be eligible for the vaccine. Please contact the practice to discuss this if you have concerns around vaccine allergy.

• Please ensure you continue to adhere to public health guidance regarding cough etiquette, social distancing and hand washing following your vaccination.