Fairyhouse welcome for second Meath vaccination centre
The establishment of a second Covid-19 vaccination centre for Meath has been broadly welcomed amid accusations that the people of south Meath are being "left behind".
Local TD and Minister for EU Affairs Thomas Byrne last night confirmed to the Meath Chronicle that the second facility at Fairyhouse Racecourse will have twice the capacity of the existing vaccination centre at Simonstown, Navan.
“Over recent weeks I have worked closely with the HSE, the Minister for Health and indeed An Taoiseach Michael Martin to ensure the people of Meath weren’t left behind.
“In order to increase vaccination capacity in Meath, a large number of potential sites were recently viewed and assessed across the county. Fairyhouse Racecourse has now been identified as a new Community Vaccination Centre which will increase capacity by 20 bays, bringing the number of bays in county Meath to 30 bays overall.
Peter Roe, general manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse said they were very much looking forward to seeing the establishment of a second vaccination centre for Meath at Fairyhouse and were "delighted to assist the HSE".
"We're ideally placed here in the south of the county and we've more than adequate space for people and parking, it will be a major boost to the people of our local communities."
Mr Roe said he was to still sit down with HSE officials to work out the specifics of the centre layout but believed the facilities could be in place very quickly and should be up and running within the next few weeks.
Prior to last night's announcement, Deputy Darren O'Rourke had raised the issues of the need for a second vaccination centre and said residents in south Meath were receiving appointments in Mullingar which, in his opinion, would have a negative impact on vaccine uptake.
"Simonstown is working at capacity and residents in south Meath, in Ashbourne, Ratoath, Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne, are receiving appointments in Mullingar. That's simply not going to work.
"We need capacity in the county for the county. We need a second vaccination centre to ensure efficient rollout and uptake, and to maintain public confidence in the system."
Minister Byrne said the recruitment of additional staff to open additional booths in Meath is also to be progressed as a matter of urgency by the HSE and added that over 33,000 vaccinations had been completed to date in Louth/Meath.
"Between now and next Tuesday there will be a further 10,000 vaccinations delivered across a number of vaccination centres in the Louth/Meath area but Meath residents will also be vaccinated in The Helix, City West and Mullingar Community Vaccination Centres. This will allow for the of the 50-59 year old cohort to be completed in the CHO by mid next week."
“The new vaccination centre in Fairyhouse will complement the existing centre in Simonstown which is now at full capacity, vaccinating 1,000 people daily, operating on a 7-day week and12 hour a day.