A Killarney woman in her sixties wants her age groups and others, who have received the first dose of AstraZeneca, to be able to choose the type of vaccine they get for their second jab.
Sixty-three-year-old Deirdre Fee says she feels as vulnerable now as she did at the beginning of the pandemic.
Her concerns follow recent studies on the level of protection for people with only one vaccination, compared to those who are fully vaccinated.
Deirdre Fee says she accepts two jabs of AstraZeneca provide 92% effectiveness against the Delta variant of COVID-19, which now accounts for 90% of infections in the UK.
However, she says those like herself who have just had one dose of AstraZeneca are vulnerable to the highly-transmissible variant; studies indicate just 33% effectiveness against Delta for those who have just had a single jab of AstraZeneca.
Ms Fee says while the gap between receiving the first and second dose of AstraZeneca is being shortened, people like herself - as an older and more vulnerable cohort - need to get their second jab as soon as possible.
She’s been following advice from Professor Luke O'Neill who says mixing vaccines provides a defence against the Delta variant, and she wants the Government to adopt this recommendation.
Deirdre Fee believes more vulnerable cohorts should be able to choose their second dose from another COVID-19 vaccine and says they shouldn’t be restricted to AstraZeneca:
