Sinn Féin health spokesperson Colm Gildernew has welcomed the announcement that the medicines regulator, the MHRA, has authorised a Covid-19 vaccine for widespread use.

Speaking after the announcement this morning the Chair of the Health Committee said;

“I welcome this announcement that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will now begin to be rolled out.

“This will give great hope to the public after nine months of the pandemic which has had a devastating impact on our communities, our economy and health services.

“This is just one vaccine but hopefully other vaccines being developed will be ready for clinical authorisation in the near future to ensure we have a vaccination programme that can fully meet the needs of people here.

“It is important those most at risk are prioritised from the outset of the vaccination programme.

“However, we must be clear that a full roll-out of vaccines could take months.

“It also remains imperative that the Find Track Trace Isolate and Support system continues to be scaled up to cope with the virus given the complete roll-out of the vaccine could take some time.

“We must not let down our guards – particularly as we go into the Christmas season.

“We need to continue to practice social distancing, good hand hygiene and the appropriate use of PPE.”