LEO VARADKAR has hit out at 'anti-vaxxers' in Ireland, insisting that they must "stick to the facts".
The Tánaiste said that the Covid-19 pandemic has given the world a small taste of what life is like without vaccines, suggesting that getting jabs was the only way to avoid a reality riddled with quarantine and death.
Speaking yesterday on RTE's Morning Ireland, he said: "I think we need to stick to the facts. Vaccines are safe and effective.
"They eliminated polio and smallpox from Ireland.
"We got a taste of what the world looked like before we got vaccines. Tens of thousands of people dying from infectious diseases, lockdowns and quarantine."
This week, the first vaccines on the island of Ireland were given out, with a number of Northern Irish hospital administering patients with the jab.
The UK became the first country in the world to clinically administer the Covid-19 vaccine, and began its nationwide rollout of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday.
Concerns were raised after two NHS staff members reportedly suffered "anaphylactic reactions" soon after receiving the vaccine, but both were understood to have had histories of serious allergic reactions.
British health experts later put out a warning advising anyone with similar histories of serious allergic reactions should avoid taking Pfizer's vaccine and instead wait for another one.
This week, Irish regulators insisted that all necessary information on the safety of the vaccine would be made available to the public once one is clinically approved.
Nothing has been confirmed yet but health experts have suggested that Ireland could begin administering Covid-19 vaccines before the end of January.
