Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout will slow down when it comes to vaccinating people in their 30s, according to the chief executive of the HSE.
Paul Reid said the vaccine rollout is reaching a “strong peak”, with 320,000 doses set to be administered this week and around 300,000 next week.
However, he said those levels are set to drop in July, when the vaccine rollout moves to two supply lines of jabs from Pfizer and Moderna.
People aged between 35 and 39 will be able to register for their vaccines from Sunday, but Mr Reid has warned that this will be “a slower age group to move through”.
“Just to flag upfront, this will be a slower age group to move through based on volume, but particularly based on... the high level of dose two administrations we will have to do,” Mr Reid told media on Thursday.
“And also the fact that we do move to two supply lines in July, which is Moderna and Pfizer,” he added.
Fully vaccinated
Approaching a third of the population are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, Mr Reid said.
Around 61 per cent of people in Ireland have had their first vaccine dose and 31 per cent are fully vaccinated.
More than 3.4 million jabs have been administered to date, including over 2.3 million first doses and 1.2 million second doses.
Earlier on Thursday, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly confirmed the vaccine registration portal will open to those aged 35 to 39 from Sunday.
Pharmacies around the country have also joined the national vaccine rollout effort today, beginning by offering the Johnson & Johnson jab, also known as Janssen.
Anyone over 50 who is not yet registered for their jab can ring a participating pharmacy to make an appointment to receive their dose.
—Additional reporting by Press Association.
