We would like to reassure people that vaccination of cohort 4, which includes all adults with Down syndrome, is continuing. Due to the cyber attack, it’s no longer possible to see the daily progress with the vaccination rollout, but we have been told that the vast majority of adults with Down syndrome should now have been offered their first dose of vaccine.
The HSE is now advising that adults who have Down syndrome who have not been called for vaccination should get in touch with their GP to ensure that they are not missed. This is particularly important for people who are not linked in with a disability service, but anyone who has not been offered the first dose should contact their GP and highlight the fact that they are in Group 4 and have not yet been offered vaccination.
The Pfizer vaccine, which was previously only recommended for people aged 16 and over, has now been approved for use in Europe on people aged 12-16, but we have been informed by the HSE that vaccination of this age group has not yet started in Ireland. The announcement last Friday that the vaccine can be used on younger people needs to be considered by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) who will advise on how this should impact on vaccination planning and delivery.
We will let you know as soon as we have more information about how this will affect teenagers with Down syndrome.
We are continuing to monitor the situation closely and will let you know if anything changes.
If you need more information our dedicated Covid section may be of use to you along with our vaccination guide, which is designed to help people with Down syndrome understand why we need to be vaccinated.