Galway Bay fm newsroom - The CEO of the Saolta Hospital Group has confirmed that mass vaccination clinics in Galway could now be used for the roll out of the flu vaccine for some groups.
Tony Canavan has told local councillors from across the region that it's his assessment that we are on a downward slope of the fourth wave of Covid but it's not certain that activity won't increase again.
At the HSE Regional Health Forum meeting, Saolta CEO Tony Canavan stated that Saolta will be holding onto the infrastructure of the mass vaccination clinics that are in place in order to retain the potential to respond to further vaccination needs.
Tuam Councillor Donagh Killilea asked if any thought had been given to rolling out the flu vaccine in the same way as the Covid vaccine has been rolled out.
Tony Canavan confirmed that thought has been given to this and that they have looked at the use of mass vaccination centres to facilitate healthcare workers receiving the flu vaccine.
While GPs will contiunue to play an important role, Community Healthcare West staff will attend the Ballybrit centre to receive their flu vaccine.
Staff at the Ballybrit centre will also be deployed to vaccinate hospital staff for flu.
According to the CEO, it may also be possible for some other vaccines to be rolled out through the centres but Saolta are bearing in mind that they're not out of the woods yet with Covid 19.
