Thousands of doses of Covid-19 vaccines are in danger of going to waste following a decision by the HSE to no longer use Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca jabs, pharmacists warned today.

The group of pharmacists working in HSE vaccination centres said they will be effectively destroyed.

The HSE is now only giving Pfizer or Moderna jabs to people registering for a vaccine.

In a letter sent to the HSE, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Taoiseach Micheal Martin they said “we wish to express our frustration at the NIO policy to allow Janssen and Astra Zeneca Covid-19 vaccines be destroyed, while millions of people around the world have no access to vaccines.“ Our viewpoint , outlined here , is widely shared by clinical leads, site leads, doctors , nurses and many others who work with us in vaccination centres

“Thousands of doses of Janssen vaccines have already gone or are about to go out of date, despite repeated requests for us at centres to distribute them to community pharmacies.

“ There is a cohort of Irish citizens that only want a Janssen vaccine , this has now being denied them, consequently they remain unvaccinated.”

They said a letter from the National Immunisation Office in the HSE to vaccination centres said pharmacists should remove any unwanted unused Astra Zeneca and Janssen Covid-19 vaccines from the fridges,

“This action renders in date vaccines useless. Many vaccination centres have Astra Zeneca vaccines which do not expire until the end of October and have been constantly maintained in cold chain conditions .

“In our stewardship role in the mass vaccination centres we have worked to ensure that every dose was used every day . This regularly meant not getting home for hours after the last appointment while we waited for people to come in and get the final doses .

“It is very disheartening now that the national policy is to simple stop using some Covid-19 vaccines and waste them.

“The Defence Forces have been an intrinsic part of mass vaccination centres and they have been an amazing asset to us in our day to day work.

“Perhaps they might take this on and work out the logistics of transporting the vaccines under the appropriate cold chain conditions, to another country .

“The Irish people have been wonderful throughout the Covid pandemic, our uptake of vaccines is one of the best in Europe. We owe it to them ,as custodians of these precious vaccines , to ensure that every dose is used . It may take a bit of diplomatic work and certainly logistical organisation but it is a worthwhile project

“ Please stop this unnecessary wastage and allow the vaccines be used in some less fortunate country where vaccines are not readily available . “

In response the HSE said :”It is not anticipated that there will be significant quantities of vaccine that will be unused. “

A spokeswoman said :”The Department of Health is responsible for vaccine policy decisions in Ireland and is looking at the issue of donation to other countries and the HSE are supporting in this process.

“Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs) are completing their cohorts and therefore remaining vaccines are yet unknown.

“Expiry dates are 90 days from thaw or date of delivery to CVCs and there will be a relatively small number remaining in the CVCs.

“Further deliveries of mRNA vaccine to community vaccine centres, GPs and pharmacists will be required to facilitate vaccination. The COVID-19 vaccination programme has moved rapidly through the age-groups and 12–15-year-olds are now eligible to register for vaccination.

“ As per the NIAC guidelines, mRNA vaccines are recommended for those aged under 50 years and are the only vaccines licensed for those under 18 years.”

“In line with NIAC recommendations and Department of Health policy, new patients are not currently being enrolled to receive COVID-19 Janssen and AstraZeneca. It is not anticipated that there will be significant quantities of vaccine that will be unused.