A Kerry County Councillor is calling for a mass COVID-19 vaccination centre in Tralee.
At the recent Tralee Municipal District meeting, Cllr Mikey Sheehy raised an emergency motion for the council to request a mass vaccination centre in the town.
Cllr Sheehy says there is likely to be 15 mass vaccination centres around the country, and the council should try to secure one for Kerry.
He added that Tralee has the sites and facilities to host a mass vaccination centre, such as the MTU campus and the John Mitchels Complex, as well as a university hospital.
The Fianna Fáil Cllr says having a centre in Tralee would also make sense geographically, as it would cover areas that are quite isolated such as the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas.
He added vulnerable people living in these areas would have much further to travel if their nearest centre was in Cork or Limerick, while a centre in Tralee could also cover parts of south west Limerick and west Cork.
His motion for the council to write to the HSE and the South/Southwest Hospital Group to request a vaccination centre in Tralee on the district's behalf was seconded by Cllr Deirdre Ferris.
Cllr Ferris agreed with what Cllr Sheehy had said, and added that University Hospital Kerry has a catchment area of over 100,000 people, making it a suitable location for a mass vaccination centre.
