Ireland coronavirus vaccine: Expected timeline as UK approves Pfizer jab and could begin rollout next week

The rollout of Ireland's vaccination program is expected to start in early to mid-January.

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is set for EU approval on January 12 with Ireland already having secured 875,756 doses.

Prior to that, the Irish vaccine taskforce will give more information to the public as to how the jabs will be rolled out in the new year on December 12.

This taskforce contains people from the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive, the Health Products Regulatory Authority, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Office of Government Procurement, IDA Ireland, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of the Taoiseach.

The plan from that team is expected to be finalised later this week before becoming public.

This all comes as the UK announced they will begin to distribute the vaccine next week with parts of Northern Ireland seeing some vaccinations before the year is out.

The UK has already secured 40 million doses of Pfizer's jab.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has set the order of priority for the coronavirus vaccine rollout in the UK.

Care home residents and staff will be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by those over 80 and health and social workers.

The vaccine will then be given to those over 75, before being rolled out to Brits of descending age.

Ireland's rollout plan is expected to be very similar once it commences with the elderly and vulnerable prioritised in January and into Spring before the rest of the population.

And vaccines will likely be administered in a similar manner too - firstly at hospitals and care homes, then at GP services and even special vaccination facilities.

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