Tomas Doherty
Vaccinations are picking up pace in Ireland, with the State now administering doses at a faster rate than the United Kingdom.
On average over the last week, more than 33,000 vaccine doses were given out each day in the Republic. Adjusted for population, the rate is slightly above the number of shots given each day in the UK, where demand has fallen from a peak in late March.
As of May 8th, Ireland is administering 0.68 doses per 100 people, compared to 0.67 in the UK, according to official statistics sourced by Our World in Data.
This is the first point during the vaccination rollout that Ireland appears to be outpacing its closest neighbour, though the Republic still lags the UK overall.
More than 35 million people, equivalent to 67 per cent of adults, have received at least one dose of a vaccine in the UK, compared to 1.3 million (35 per cent of adults) in the Republic.
The UK began its rollout on December 8th last year, almost three weeks ahead of European Union countries.
Heavily criticised for a slow start, the EU vaccination campaign has faced disruptions in supplies of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, and has now pivoted to rely heavily on the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
