Vivienne Clarke
Almost 70 per cent of people aged in their 20s have registered for a Covid-19 vaccine in Ireland, according to the HSE’s head of the vaccination programme.
Damien McCallion said the country had one of the highest take up rates in Europe in a number of age groups, with 67 per cent of 20 to 29-year-olds already vaccinated or registered for their vaccine.
Everyone in the country over the age of 18 was now eligible to be vaccinated, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
There were options for anyone who had not availed of the vaccine at an earlier stage, he said.
“Our motto is leave no one behind,” he said.
Children’s vaccination
When asked about a date for when children aged 12 to 15 could be vaccinated, Mr McCallion said the HSE was awaiting advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac), but were planning ahead for when a decision was reached.
The HSE had a good track record and a lot of experience when it came to vaccinating children through schools, he said.
Mr McCallion anticipated that a start date for the vaccination of 16 to 17-year-olds would be set next week.
The vaccination system had originally been designed to protect the most vulnerable groups, he said, but no vaccine offered 100 per cent protection and the disease was still prevalent and presented a serious threat.
Of the recent deaths where the deceased were found to have had Covid-19, the virus had been the cause of death in most cases, he said.
