A mum battling cancer had her Covid-19 vaccine cancelled by text the night before she was due to get the jab.
Lucy Fallon, 39, was scheduled to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday but plans were scuppered as the government chose to suspend the programme due to blood clot fears, as advised by experts.
Ms Fallon, who is battling breast cancer, explained: “I got a standard SMS text, not a phone call, nothing.
“I didn’t even read it properly because it was so shocking and frustrating that me, as a young mother, still gets to sit at home waiting on a rollour that has been so incorrectly done.
“I’m sitting here in April with no vaccination, I’m attending hospital clinics, doctors appointments, A&E and we the cancer patients are going in unvaccinated.
“Yes, hospital staff are completed and that’s perfectly fine, everyone is entitled to a vaccine in my eyes however cancer patients should never be left behind.”
And Ms Fallon said that for her and other cancer patients, it would allow them to get some semblance of normality back into their lives.
She continued: “A vaccination would mean everything to me.
“It would mean that we don’t have to live in a society driven by fear and personally I’m not afraid of covid anymore but I need my standard of living back, we as cancer patients need it back.
“We need to go back into society and live our lives.”
The biggest thing for Lucy is that other people could stop worrying about her picking up Covid-19 when she is out and about, giving an extra level of security.
Speaking on RTE News at One she added: “For me, it’s simple. Just to be able to go and tell people I’m vaccinated so they stop worrying about me picking the virus up when I’m out and about and you know, not wear a mask when you’re going somewhere.
“We will need to get on with our lives and the rollout is just frustrating at this stage.
“We’re here in April and the vulnerable should not be paying the price.”
