The long waits some vulnerable people have had to face for their second vaccine dose “should never have happened,” according to the Labour leader.

The HSE has said it now expects 450,000 people waiting for their second dose to get it within five weeks.

It said it is this reducing the waiting time between doses from 12 to eight weeks, with the outstanding second doses to be completed by July 19th.

Second dose

The HSE has faced heavy criticism over the issue in recent weeks and Labour Party leader Alan Kelly told Newstalk it should have been addressed earlier.

“Having to push to bring this in wasn’t acceptable,” he said.

“They said it was age-based but literally people in their 40s were going to be in some cases fully vaccinated before people in their late-60s.

“People with underlying illnesses, people in Cohort Seven, some people who work in community healthcare settings – that should never have happened.”

AstraZeneca

The changing age restrictions on AstraZeneca effectively made it exclusively available to people in their 60s for a period earlier this year.

That meant younger and less vulnerable people were offered the Moderna and Pfizer jabs instead – both of which have much shorter intervals between doses.

As a result, the HSE told people who had been given AstraZeneca they could access the ‘vaccine bonus’ after four weeks.

Delta

There are now concerns over that advice however, due to the drop in protection offered by one-shot against the Delta variant, first identified in India.

“The 60 to 69-year-olds, some 50-year-olds, some healthcare workers and some in cohort Four and Seven who got this vaccine before the rules changed are left in very vulnerable situation,” said Deputy Kelly.

“They are literally the most vulnerable unvaccinated groups and having to wait the longest to be fully vaccinated while people of my own age and dare I say it some younger will be fully vaccinated before them.

“So, this had to be dealt with.”

Vaccine rollout

The HSE has said the rollout of AstraZeneca second doses over the next five weeks will not delay programme for younger age groups.

Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has confirmed that people who were originally given AstraZeneca will not be offered Pfizer and Moderna for their second jab.

Micheál Martin told the Dáil yesterday that the programme could be undermined by giving out further “mixed signals” on the available doses.

The Heath Minister has said the vaccine registration portal will soon open for over 30s.