COVID-19 Vaccine – National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme – Community Pharmacy Campaign – Balrothery Pharmacy 

 

28/04/22 – NIAC and NIO are now recommending a second booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to the following cohorts:

Individuals aged 65 year and older; and individuals aged 12 and older that were identified as immunocompromised patients with a suboptimal response to their primary vaccination.

Any bookings not in these cohorts will be cancelled unfortunately. 

The HSE has advised that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (Spikevax) is the preferred vaccine for this booster programme and it can only be administered to patients who are aged 30 or older.

24/03/22 – Update – Pharmacies who are participating in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme can administer a booster dose to the below cohorts and at the intervals outlined on the table below. 

Age	Aged 12-15 years	Aged 12-15 years old Immuno-compromised with a suboptimal response (*)
Interval since last dose	At least six months	At least three months
Interval since COVID-19 infection	At least six months	At least six months
Age	Age ≥16 years and older	Age ≥16 years and older Immuno-compromised with a suboptimal response (*)
Interval since last dose	At least three months	At least three months
Interval since COVID-19 infection	At least six months	At least six months

 

10/03/22 – Update – The COVID-19 booster programme for children aged 12-15 years will be operational in pharmacies within the week commencing 21 March 2022. Dates will be uploaded for that week from the 16th of March. Any bookings for boosters for this age group will be automatically cancelled before the 21st of March 2022.

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/covid19vaccineinfo4hps/prog1215/consentform.pdf

28/01/22 – Update – Immunocompromised booster dose: A booster dose is recommended to those immunocompromised individuals aged 16 years and older, who have received an additional dose as part of their extended primary vaccination course. Pharmacies can give this dose.

31/12/21 – Update – The Minister for Health has announced the extension of eligibility for booster vaccines in Vaccination Centres, GPs and pharmacies to people aged 16 years and over.

23/12/21 – Update – The Minister for Health has announced the extension of eligibility for booster vaccines in Vaccination Centres, GPs and pharmacies to people aged 30 years and over as well as those aged 16 to 29 who got the Janssen single-dose vaccine for their primary COVID-19 vaccination. This will take effect as of next Wednesday, 29 December.

18/12/21 – Update – Last night, the Minister for Health announced that as of Sunday 19 December eligibility for COVID-19 booster vaccines in Vaccination Centres, GPs and pharmacies will be extended to the 40-49 age cohort.

Please only call the shop if you an emergency issue with a booking.

Unfortunately it isn’t possible to respond to or process bookings over the phone, by social media or email. 

 

Balrothery Pharmacy has been approved to administer Pfizer vaccines (including boosters). Vaccinations will occur in Balrothery Pharmacy, Balrothery, North County Dublin, K32AY68.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee have advised that one booster dose of an mRNA vaccine is recommended for –

 

Booster Cohort	Can they be vaccinated in a pharmacy?
Individuals aged over 40	Yes
Healthcare Workers	Yes
Individuals aged 16-39 with underlying conditions (*)	Yes
Immuno-compromised	No, these patients are being identified by their consultants and are being given appointments

(*) Please refer to table 5a.2 (below booking form) from Chapter 5a COVID-19 Immunisation guidance to identify these individuals.

We cannot in any circumstance administer booster vaccines if you do not fall under the allowed categories above. Your booking will be cancelled otherwise. 

 

Your booking will only be confirmed when you receive a booking confirmation, and we confirm all your details match those with the HSE. We will be in touch if so.

Please only present for your appointment at the agreed booking time. You will not be called to this time, as people are called in order of their booking not when they presented.

It is possible to book a vaccination online with Balrothery Pharmacy (PharmacyAnseo.ie), even if you have registered with the HSE and have received a vaccination date from them. We register your vaccination live on our HSE portal and they will be made aware in minutes.

If for whatever reason you get an appointment and then cannot make it or will be late for the appointment, please let us know as soon as possible by email or phone.

Please ensure it is at least 3 months since your primary CoVid-19 Vaccination! (eg. If you received your primary vaccination on the 25th of September 2021, you cannot receive the booster vaccination until the 25th of December 2021.)

 

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Pharmacists can administer Comirnaty®/Pfizer BioNTech /Moderna as a booster dose if the primary vaccine course was Vaxzevria®/ AstraZeneca vaccine. 

Pregnant healthcare workers can receive a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine from a pharmacy. Prior to administration, you must ensure that the patient has discussed their individual risks and benefits with their obstetric care giver.

You can get the COVID-19 booster vaccine at the same time as the flu vaccine or other vaccines.

We can now vaccinate people who have received their first vaccination elsewhere and whose first vaccination information is in the EU Digital COVID Certificate portal. Please call ahead before booking so we can confirm all information is correct. Otherwise there will be problems with the HSE issuing your EU Digital COVID Certificate. 

Please ensure that the email address and PPS number provided below are correct. We cannot add any information to the HSE portal without a valid PPS number and you will not receive vaccine confirmation or a EU Digital COVID Certificate without a valid email address. (We recommend adding the adults email address and mobile number.)

Children aged between 12-15 years cannot give their own consent. A document below will list who exactly can give consent in all circumstances. If you are aged 16 years or older, you can sign your own consent form. Please print off the consent form also listed below and bring to the appointment completed. (Printed copies are available from the pharmacy but must be picked up at least 1 hour before the appointment)

 

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/covid19vaccineinfo4hps/who-can-give-consent-for-young-people-aged-under-16.pdf

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/covid19vaccineinfo4hps/prog1215/consentform.pdf

https://www.pharmacyanseo.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/covidchecklistpm.pdf

 

An adult who is legally able to consent for the child will need to be present and provide consent for the child aged 12-15 at the time of the vaccination appointment. A child cannot attend this appointment alone. Only one adult will be allowed to accompany the child. The child should also be asked to assent to the vaccination which must be recorded on the consent form. A child who does not assent should not be restrained or vaccinated against their will. (We may ask the adult accompanying the child to wait outside while the child is waiting before and after the vaccination occurs in busier times.)

You will need 2 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. You will get your 2nd dose 2.5-4 weeks (17-28 days) after your 1st dose. It takes 7 days after the 2nd dose for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to work. This is when you are fully vaccinated.

We will require you to bring your PPS number, consent form and photographic identification to the appointment. All bookings are dependent on supply and can be cancelled.

 

Overview & Introduction

COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease that can cause serious illness, hospitalisation and even death. The COVID-19 vaccination programme offers protection from COVID-19. If people do test positive for COVID-19 after vaccination, they should have increased levels of protection from the serious illness that the virus can sometimes cause. The aim in offering the vaccine to the population is to protect people and reduce the illness and deaths caused by this virus.

The vaccine is not mandatory. People who are most at risk from COVID-19 will be offered the vaccine first. The COVID-19 vaccine is free to all persons of the State. It will not be available privately.

The Department of Health has devised a priority list of groups for vaccination using vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation.
Advisory Committee (NIAC) and the Department of Health, endorsed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and approved by Government on 8 December 2020 and updated on 30 March 2021. The Strategy is a further component to the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will evolve and adapt with more detailed information on the vaccines and their effectiveness. For a quick guide to the updated provisional vaccine allocation groups please see link to the government website

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/39038-provisional-vaccine-allocation-groups/

Community Pharmacists, who have already made a significant positive contribution to efforts to manage this public health crisis since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, will play a key role in the delivery of the vaccination programme in accordance with the agreed national vaccination schedule. Community Pharmacists will have a key role in delivering the COVID-19 vaccination programme as the HSE seeks to maximise delivery capacity.
This document sets out guidance in relation to the approach, logistical arrangements and processes established for the rollout of the vaccine programme within a community pharmacy setting.

Please refer to the following links if you have any questions about the vaccination.

https://www2.hse.ie/screening-and-vaccinations/covid-19-vaccine/get-the-vaccine/

https://rcpi-live-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/20210803-FINAL_Recommendations-COVID-19-vaccination-of-those-aged-12-15.pdf

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/covid19vaccineinfo4hps/prog1215/

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/covid19vaccineinfo4hps/prog1215/faq1215/

https://www2.hse.ie/screening-and-vaccinations/covid-19-vaccine/pfizer-biontech/

The COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy sets out a provisional priority list of groups for vaccination once a safe and effective vaccine(s) is authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and the Department of Health, endorsed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and approved by Government on 8 December 2020 and updated 26th February 2021. The Strategy is a further component to the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will evolve and adapt with more detailed information on the vaccines and their effectiveness. For a quick guide to the updated provisional vaccine allocation groups please see link to the government website https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/39038-provisional-vaccine-allocation-groups/

The National Immunisation Office (NIO) is the primary source of clinical guidelines about national immunisation programmes, including COVID-19. Please refer to its website regularly, as the NIO monitor and update information in relation to vaccinations. Please see:

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/covid19vaccineinfo4hps/clinicalguidance.pdf