COVID Vaccination Campaign Update
As we are a charity led by kidney patients, we have access to a wide range of data on kidney conditions both in Ireland and abroad. This has allowed us to make a very strong case for why kidney patients should be prioritised.
The email letter to TD’s is now online here. To date, 8,514 emails have been sent. Thanks to everybody who has sent an email which covered both patients on dialysis and all organ transplant recipients.
This has resulted in numerous statements and Parliamentary Questions ( PQ’s) in the Oireachtas.
As of the 14th of February, the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has stated
“I have asked the Department to do a detailed review of cohort 7, which includes those with underlying health conditions. The current size of that cohort is especially large because it is an estimate of everyone in the country with an underlying condition. The view expressed consistently in the House – it is one I share – is that there is a smaller group within that cohort who are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 and who might get ill or die if they were to contract Covid-19. The national immunisation advisory committee is doing a detailed review of that full list to see what a subgroup might be to ensure they are prioritised.”
Please continue to send these letters, adding in your personal story if you’re comfortable with this, as this can make your approach more compelling.
The letters can be fully edited for other patient conditions (e.g., other organ transplant types, chemotherapy etc.) both in the subject line and in the letter content.
As part of our campaign, we are working with other patient groups under the umbrella group IPPOSI – the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry. See here for more details.
Vaccination Questions
At an IKA Branch forum meeting on the 12th of February, we discussed patient concerns and are now compiling a list of questions. We plan to hold an open online event to address these questions shortly.
Organ Donor Awareness Week 2021
Due to COVID-19 we will not be able to run our usual event. We are currently in discussions with the HSE’s Organ Donation Transplant Ireland (ODTI) on securing funding to run an online event in 2021. While we had funding last year for 50% of our costs on promoting organ donation awareness, we are awaiting confirmation of funding for 2021. Last year, we had a deficit of €147,000 on our organ donation awareness activities.
