Fine Gael TD, John O’Mahony, has called for the relaxation of the licensing regulation rules that govern the availability of medicine in Ireland to allow for the speedier distribution of the swine flu vaccination.
According to the Mayo TD, the licensing regulations will hold up the nationwide distribution of the vaccine for up to one month. “At a time when parents are worried about sending their children back to school, it would make an awful lot of sense for the authorities to relax the law and get the vaccine into the community as quickly as possible,” he said.
Deputy O’Mahony said he understood the vaccine could be available in Ireland as early as next week but because of the strict regulations governing licensing for medicine here, which is operated by the Irish Medicines Board, it could take another month for it to be available. “I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with the way we license medicine here but in this case, where the need for the vaccine is so urgent I am arguing for a relaxation of the rules to get this much needed vaccine distributed.”
