Kevin Galvin
The Clinical Lead at the WIT mass vaccination centre says he expects it to continue running beyond the current vaccination programme.
Patrick Kelly says the centre has seen almost 100,000 people vaccinated since getting up and running earlier in the year, with a peak flow of 1,400 per day.
The initial vaccine programme is coming to its end, with all age groups approved by NIAC getting jabs in WIT, and there is still uncertainty about the future of vaccine centres.
And Kelly says just because the vaccination programme is over, doesn’t mean that there are not still people left to vaccinate, and there’s still a future for the facilities.
It's as University Hospital Waterford have confirmed that another day of walk-in vaccine appointments will take place at the centre tomorrow and Sunday (21st & 22nd August) from 11am to 2pm.
It will be available for both first and second doses of the vaccine, but only those who have had the Pfizer BioNTech jab will be eligible for a second vaccine at the appointments.
Dr Patrick Kelly says they were vaccinating over 1,400 people per day at its peak, but there are still people that are coming back to be vaccinated for the first time.
"In the early days,when we had limited access to vaccinations, there were individuals who didn't want to take particular vaccines
"There were other people who were worried about the speed of the development of the vaccines and they wanted to give it a while to see what happens when their friends and family get it - did they grow an extra arm or a leg?
"That hasn't transpired thankfully so they have more confidence in the vaccination programme now."
Dr Kelly says he can see the centres continuing to have a role.
"If I was a betting person, I would say that the mass vaccination centres will be used to deliver the boosters, probably concurrently they will be used to deliver flu vaccines.
"However, General Practices and Pharmacies have been very effective and very beneficial, particularly for people who can't travel to the large centres, so I do see General Practitioners and pharmacists continuing to play a vital role as they always do every year."
You can listen to our full conversation with Dr Kelly below.
