Nearly half a million people have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine so far.
The government has said it is aiming for four in five adults in Ireland to have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of June.
The news comes as Ireland faces increasing criticism for the speed of its vaccine rollout.
So far, over 492,000 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with almost 184,000 fully vaccinated having got two doses.
In a briefing on Wednesday, Liz Canavan of the Department of the Taoiseach said: “We are already seeing the positive impact of the vaccine rollout on case numbers in the vaccinated population.
“Covid infection among the three groups which have been vaccinated – residents and staff in long term residential care, frontline healthcare workers and people aged over 85 – has halved, while cases in the community are down around 20%.”
This week, the vaccine programme is supporting the return of visits to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
In terms of the vaccine rollout:
- For those aged 65 and up living in long-term residential facilities and staff, it is “substantially complete”.
- The vaccination of frontline healthcare workers is “very close” to being finished.
- The inoculation of over 85s has also been completed, while the process of vaccinating the 75-79 cohort is now underway.
Another government target is that all people over the age of 70 will have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by mid-May.
The vaccination of those aged between 16 and 69 who are at very high risk will be rolled out further from this week.
Meanwhile, the government has said that close to 11,000 vaccinators have been trained, while recruitment for vaccinators at 38 vaccination centres is well underway.
More information on The National Vaccination Strategy and the prioritisation list is available here.
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