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Professor Karina Butler said the AstraZeneca vaccine would allow easier rollout at a community level

EMA may approve AstraZeneca vaccine by end of month

Europe's medicines regulator has said it expects drug maker AstraZeneca to apply for approval of its Covid-19 vaccine next week.

Coronavirus • 08 Jan 21

The Chief Medical Officer has said information on the vaccination uptake will be reported to give people an understanding of the progress being made

25 nursing homes to receive Covid vaccine from Monday

Around 25 nursing homes are to receive the coronavirus vaccine from Monday and there will be a full roll-out the week after, the Chief Executive of Nursing Homes Ireland has said.

Coronavirus • 31 Dec 20

The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine has been delivered in less than a year

From the lab to the jab: The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine

It was over breakfast on the wintry morning of 24 January that Ozlem Tureci and her husband Ugur Sahin decided, "we need to fire the starting gun on this".

Coronavirus • 26 Dec 20

The German state of Saxony-Anhalt has already started vaccinations

Germany starts coronavirus vaccines a day early

The rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 across Europe is under way following approval on Monday by the European Medicines Agency.

Coronavirus • 26 Dec 20

A total of 2,149 people have died with the disease here

Covid-19 situation getting worse more rapidly - Holohan

There have been six further deaths and 582 new cases of Covid-19 reported to the Department of Health. A total of 2,149 people have died with the disease here with the cumulative number of infections now standing at 78,254.

Coronavirus • 18 Dec 20

Professor MacCraith said that if the communication strategy is not right nothing else will have an impact

Vaccines for up to 2,500 people in first Irish delivery

The head of the Covid-19 vaccine task force Professor Brian MacCraith has said that Ireland may receive enough of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the first delivery to inoculate 2,500 people.

Politics • 16 Dec 20

Here's how the Coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out

Professor Paul Moynagh, Immunologist, Maynooth University, Dr Sinead Beirne, and Stephen Delaney, CEO Q1 Scientific explain how the first coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out across Ireland

claire byrne live • 16 Dec 20

British American Tobacco raised eyebrows in April when it said it was developing a Covid-19 vaccine

BAT's vaccine candidate gets US approval for trials

A Covid-19 vaccine being developed by British American Tobacco from tobacco leaves has been approved for human trials by the US health regulator, the maker of Dunhill and Lucky Strike cigarettes said today.

Business • 16 Dec 20

AstraZeneca agrees deal for US biotech firm Alexion Pharmaceuticals

AstraZeneca shares fall on $39-billion Alexion bill

AstraZeneca shares fell 9% today as investors moved to price in the British drugmaker's $39 billion deal for US biotech firm Alexion Pharmaceuticals, the company's largest ever and one of this year's biggest mergers globally.

Business • 14 Dec 20

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine would come first for Ireland

Taoiseach expecting vaccine 'build up' in early 2021

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said there will be a 'build up' of Covid-19 vaccine availability in January and February next year, followed by higher volumes in March, April and May.

Coronavirus • 11 Dec 20

The EMA said a cyberattack targeting the agency will not affect approval of vaccines

Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna vaccine data 'robust' - EMA

Data submitted to the European Medicines Agency by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna for their Covid-19 vaccine candidates is "very robust", according to its executive director

Coronavirus • 10 Dec 20

The UK has begun a Covid-19 vaccination programme

UK regulator issues allergy warning over Covid vaccine

UK regulators have issued a warning that people who have a history of "significant" allergic reactions should not currently receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine after two people who had the jab yesterday had allergic reactions.

Coronavirus • 09 Dec 20

A phial of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine

US FDA staff back Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine data

Pfizer has cleared the next hurdle in the race to get its Covid-19 vaccine approved for emergency use after the US Food and Drug Administration released documents that raised no new issues about its safety or efficacy.

Coronavirus • 08 Dec 20

The WHO said it would be down to individual countries as to how they want to conduct their vaccination campaigns

WHO against mandatory Covid-19 vaccines

The World Health Organization has said that persuading people on the merits of a Covid-19 vaccine would be far more effective than trying to make the jabs mandatory.

Coronavirus • 07 Dec 20

Leonora O'Brien, founder and CEO of Pharmapod

Irish company developing app to help vaccine rollout

An Irish software company is developing an application which is designed to assist in the management of the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines globally.

Business • 07 Dec 20

The Minister said Ireland currently has the lowest rate of Covid-19 cases in the EU

Ireland 'in line' with EU states on vaccine roll-out

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said Ireland is 'in line' with the rest of the EU27 when it comes to the roll out of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

Coronavirus • 03 Dec 20

Johnson takes modest approach as UK pips EU to vaccine

Boris Johnson was uncharacteristically modest about the UK becoming the first western country to authorize a Covid-19 vaccine. He had been asked by the Sun newspaper if Britain's speedy authorization process was a "Brexit dividend" - a result of being free of EU rules.

Analysis and Comment • 02 Dec 20

The European Medicines Agency said its procedure was more appropriate

EU criticises 'hasty' UK approval of Covid-19 vaccine

The European Union has criticised the UK's rapid approval of Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine, saying its own procedure was more thorough.

Coronavirus • 02 Dec 20

The vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries

How does the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine work?

A new Covid-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, working with German biotech company BioNTech, has been approved for use in the UK.

Coronavirus • 02 Dec 20

Effective immunisation is seen as the main weapon against the pandemic (stock image)

Cabinet approves purchase of Moderna Covid vaccine

The Cabinet has approved an advance purchase agreement for 875,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Moderna.

Coronavirus • 01 Dec 20

Moderna said study showed no serious safety concerns

Moderna to seek US, EU emergency vaccine authorisation

Moderna has said it will apply for US and European emergency authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine based on full results from a late-stage study showing its vaccine was 94.1% effective with no serious safety concerns.

Coronavirus • 30 Nov 20

The Moderna deal will be formally approved by the EU executive tomorrow

EU agrees deal for 160 million doses of Moderna vaccine

The European Union has reached a deal with US biotech firm Moderna for the supply of up to 160 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, the President of the European Commission has said.

Coronavirus • 24 Nov 20

The European Medicines Agency is studying vaccine study test results

EU may approve two virus vaccines before end of 2020

The European Union could approve two coronavirus vaccines being tested by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna before the end of December, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said tonight.

Coronavirus • 19 Nov 20

Both the Pfizer and Moderna inoculations work by injecting people with customised genetic code

How two companies sprinted ahead in Covid vaccine race

Just as the novel coronavirus was gaining a foothold in the United States in mid-March, Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla called on his top vaccine scientists and laid out a clear mission.

Coronavirus • 17 Nov 20

The race for a vaccine - what do we know so far? (stock image)

Where are we in the Covid-19 vaccine race?

Drug makers and research centres around the world are working on Covid-19 vaccines, with large global trials of several of the candidates involving tens of thousands of participants well under way.

Coronavirus • 16 Nov 20