Call for Coombe master to resign as report finds doctor took vaccines home Former master urges Dublin hospital chief to step down for undermining vaccine rollout
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Simon Carswell Public Affairs Editor Listen now 2:32
The Coombe: a former master of the hospital, Prof Chris Fitzpatrick, has called on Prof O’Connell to resign ‘in the interest of the hospital and in the public interest’. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/ Collins
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The master of the Coombe in Dublin is facing pressure to resign after a review found that he allowed a consultant take leftover Covid-19 vaccines home to administer to family members.
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The hospital said 37 people, including GPs and âmembers of other vulnerable groupsâ received excess doses. At Temple Street childrenâs hospital, an âadministrative errorâ was blamed for a number of staff on maternity leave receiving vaccines before other colleagues working in the hospital.
The board of the Coombe hospital met on Monday night to discuss controversy around the maternity hospital administering Covid-19 vaccines to non-frontline healthcare workers, including two children of Prof Michael OâConnell, master of the hospital.
Former master Prof Chris Fitzpatrick called for an independent investigation, saying in a letter to The Irish Times he was âdeeply concernedâ to learn what had happened.
Shay Feeney inquires “Am I missing something?” (‘Now we need a vaccine for depression and the economy’, Letters, December 30).
First off, the economies of innumerable nations are not in financial depression; rather a hiccup, or a slowdown. Here, in Australia, the economy boomed within a week of opening up, while it had been kept going via online shopping. Couriers could not keep up with demand.
Secondly, to claim the comparison of the creation of past vaccines and the present day “is ridiculous” is in itself just that. Approximately 10pc of Covid-19 was an absolute unknown to any epidemiologist in the world.
I cannot for the life of me understand why we are allowing so many people into the Irish Republic by way of Northern Ireland when we have placed travel restrictions on other ports and airports.
People flying in to Belfast and Derry airports from London and other parts of the UK are travelling to their destinations by bus or hired car. It is total madness given the restrictions and lockdown in the UK.
I can understand people want to get home for Christmas but to risk not only yourself but your family members and loved ones is a tad inconsiderate, or even selfish, given the health crisis we are in.