Race to get as many fully vaccinated as possible in face of Covid-19 Delta threat

Good morning,

The political action kicks off at 9am in Dublin Castle as the Cabinet meets to discuss the looming threat posed by the Covid-19 Delta variant.

Ministers are also expected to be given an update on the progress of the State’s vaccination campaign.

The high-level vaccine taskforce met on Monday to discuss reducing the interval for the AstraZeneca vaccine from 12 weeks to eight weeks and to discuss the administration of vaccines by pharmacists.

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It has been quite clear for some time now that when it comes to the pandemic, this is now a race between the virus and the vaccinations.

Given recent studies, which show that vaccines are significantly more effective against variants after the second dose, there is a push behind-the-scenes to get as many people fully immunised as possible and quickly.

Political sources have said that people who received their first dose of AstraZeneca, including those in their 60s, will begin receiving texts in the coming weeks informing them that they are to receive their second dose sooner than had previously been scheduled.

Plans to reduce the gap between AstraZeneca jabs will be accelerated, ultimately resulting in nine weeks’ worth of vaccination being compressed into five.

The plans have been based on an expectation that large deliveries of AstraZeneca vaccines will be made by the end of the month. Thankfully, there appears to be confidence that they will arrive in full and on time.

There is an interesting question, too, about the next phase of the vaccination campaign as it moves to catering for those under the age of 40.

That age group will be given mRNA vaccines like those provided by Pfizer and Moderna. So the country will effectively move to a two vaccine strategy once all the other age groups have their second shots. This, of course, means the campaign is dependant on reliable and large deliveries from those companies to keep up the pace.

Elsewhere in our lead today, Ministers aren't quite hitting the panic button yet when it comes to the Delta variant.

There is an expectation that the variant will spread throughout the summer months.

Members of the Cabinet are intimating that plans for a wider reopening of the economy and society from July 5th will not be affected by this likelihood.

But as Paul Cullen writes here the course of the pandemic in Ireland is very much influenced by what happens across the Irish Sea.

And yesterday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to delay the lifting of remaining coronavirus restrictions in England. Here's a report on that from Denis Staunton.

Meanwhile the Cabinet is also expected to move to increase the self-isolation period for travellers from Britain from five to 10 days for partially vaccinated people. Fully vaccinated passengers will face no quarantine.

Expect more details later this afternoon.

Mica controversy

Leinster House authorities have put TDs, Senators and their staff on notice about the mica protest which is expected to happen around lunchtime. The protest is expected to move from Kildare Street to the Convention Centre with road closures expected. Sinn Féin has a timely motion on the same issue in the Dáil this evening.

Tim O'Brien has put together this Q&A answering the questions: what is mica and why are people protesting over it?

And here is a detailed piece on what to expect today.

The Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien is understood to be working on proposals to address the problems which have left thousands of homeowners devastated. Keep an eye on the irishtimes.com today for coverage of the protest both in and outside of the Dáil.

Best reads

Covid and vaccines aren't the only big ticket items on the Cabinet agenda. Harry McGee and Jack Horgan Jones report that Darragh O'Brien is to bring forward proposals that will allow him to oblige that up to 100 per cent of housing on public land in Dublin and Cork be either affordable or social.

Fintan O'Toole writes that "sausage wars" are a distraction from Johnson's porky pies.

Arthur Beesley has the latest on the inquiry into the Beacon vaccination controversy.

An interesting story from Marie O'Halloran who reports that the Department of Equality is to commission research into the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of sexual harassment and discrimination. This is on foot of legislation by Independent Senator Lynn Ruane to ban NDAs.

Suzanne Lynch reports on the latest promising data for the Novavax coronavirus vaccine.

Playbook

Dáil

Leader’s Questions kick off at 2pm. Taoiseach Micheál Martin will take questions just after 3pm. Sinn Féin has a private members motion on the mica and pyrite issues in Donegal and Mayo and that is currently scheduled for 6:14pm. The Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe takes questions at around 8:15pm followed by topical issues and the Dáil adjourns at 10:30pm.

Here is the detailed schedule.

Seanad

Commencement orders will be taken at 9am, followed by the order of business at 10:30am. The main business of the day will be the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Bill 2018 which will effectively penalise those who lie under oath.

You can read the full schedule here.

Committees

A busy day lies ahead in the committee rooms. At 9:30 the Seanad special committee on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU meets. They will hear from EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness. The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday agreement meets at the same time. The Land Development Agency Bill is back up at the Committee on Housing. Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien will be present. There’s another important piece of legislation up: the Birth Information and Tracing Bill. That’s at the Joint Committee on Children at 3:30.

Read the full schedule here.