Digital Desk Staff
Thousands of 12-15 year-olds become the latest to receive their vaccines this weekend, the Irish Examiner reports.
It comes as health officials have issued a stark warning that numbers in ICU with Covid-19 are now approaching the same levels as the peak of the second wave.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn warned cases were now rising in every county.
“We have reported over 10,000 cases in the last week and, while we have very high incidence across Donegal, Monaghan, Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Louth and Cavan in particular, incidence is rising across all 26 counties,” he said.
"In addition, while incidence is particularly high in those aged 16-29 years, incidence is now rising across all age groups.”
Health officials have also warned of a "sudden increase" in cases in Limerick and Tipperary, with most cases also having multiple close contacts.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is particularly worried about the possibility of more people becoming severely ill despite the high uptake of vaccines.
At the peak of the second wave in October, there were 47 people in critical care. That number now stands at 43, including eight new admissions in the past 24 hours.
The Department of Health reported an additional 1,978 cases on Friday. There were 221 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals.
Bumper week
This comes as the vaccine rollout looks set for another bumper week. By Friday night, more than 71,000 children had been registered to receive a Covid-19 vaccine since the portal opened on Wednesday evening.
Parents took to social media in droves to say the waiting time between registering and appointment dates is just days.
Up to Thursday, about 6.3m vaccines were given out across all the age groups. The majority of people are now receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly welcomed the surge in registrations, saying: “Thank you to all the staff and volunteers in our programme and to the population who embraced the programme.”
Irish people have also now donated 1.25m vaccines through Unicef's "get a vaccine, give a vaccine" programme, up from 1m earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the HSE has also updated its guidelines for vaccination following advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.
People who were vaccinated abroad can now have their vaccination status accepted in Ireland if the jab is authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority in the UK, or the Food and Drug Administration in America.
