Coronavirus: Military medics deployed to assist NI vaccine rollout

The UK government has agreed to deploy 100 members of the military to Northern Ireland to support the "accelerated rollout" of Covid-19 vaccines.

It is the second time medically-trained members of the armed forces have been sent to NI to support health service staff during the pandemic.

The request for military support for the vaccine programme was made by Stormont's Department of Health.

It was granted by the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

"Today I authorised the deployment of 100 defence medics to support the vaccine rollout in Northern Ireland from the end of this month," Mr Wallace said.

"Our armed forces are once again stepping up to support the UK's response to the pandemic, working around the clock to protect our people in all four corners of the nation."

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis welcomed the latest deployment, saying he was "pleased medically-trained personnel from our armed forces will support health and social care teams in the delivery of this unprecedented programme across Northern Ireland."

Last April, a request from Stormont Health Minister Robin Swann for Army assistance sparked tensions between unionists and nationalists in the NI Assembly.

However, at the height of the third wave of Covid-19 in January, 110 medically-trained military personnel were deployed to Northern Ireland hospitals to assist nursing staff and ease pressure on wards.

The medics arrived in Northern Ireland on a military transport flight from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in late January.

On 25 February, it was confirmed the deployment had ended and those medics had been withdrawn from NI hospitals.