Vac us up ‘UK should help Ireland with Covid-19 vaccine supply', says Dr Gabriel Scally

The UK should help Ireland out with vaccines as it has purchased 407 million doses, said Dr Gabriel Scally.

The President of Epidemiology and Public Health at the UK’s Royal Society of Medicine said Ireland should be making relationships with the vaccine companies and asking the UK for help.

"My first stop would be to have a conversation with Boris Johnson, the UK has purchased 407 million doses,” he said on RTÉ Radio 1’s Today with Claire Byrne.

"That’s enough to vaccinate the total adult population of the UK about four times with two doses each time, so that’s a lot of surplus vaccine.”

Dr Scally said it would be in the UK’s best interest to help Ireland with its vaccine roll-out.

"I think it’d be very beneficial, the last thing the UK wants is Ireland lagging behind and having a lot more cases.

“There is only one EU land border that the UK has and that’s with the Republic of Ireland, its a common travel area and it’s absolutely in the UK’s interest to help Ireland with vaccines.”

The Public Health Doctor said Ireland is at “a very worrying point” when it comes to international travel as the UK has put 33 countries on the list for mandatory quarantine while Scotland as banned all international travel. He added: “The Republic of Ireland hasn’t moved on this”.

When told that the government is working on having 18 countries on the mandatory hotel quarantine list, Dr Scally said “that’s no good”.

He added: “The variants are on their way and the variants move far faster than the Irish government.”

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