Nursing home residents are set to have their vaccine appointments delayed if they’re Covid positive.
It’s after the HSE has recommended deferring the dose for any patients and staff who’ve had a positive test, to allow them to recover – a period it says could last at least 4 weeks.
It says the programme must be flexible enough to deal with ‘unforeseen events.’
Vaccinations are due to begin in nursing homes nationwide on Monday, with the target completion date set at the end of February.
The first vaccinations locally are to be rolled out from the 14th January, starting in Kilkenny’s Mount Carmel Care Home. Beechwood Nursing Home will be first to receive the vaccine in Carlow, on the 18th January. For more on that, read here.
The potential delay in the vaccination programme comes as there are currently 53 outbreaks in nursing homes nationwide.
Chief Executive of Nursing Homes Ireland Tadhg Daly insists, however, that the delay for positive cases is in line with clinical advice for the Pfizer vaccine.
