OVER HALF OF Irish adults are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said.

New figures released today show that 55% of adults, around two million people, are fully vaccinated from the coronavirus disease while 70%, 2.63 million people, have had at least one dose. 

The figures come around a week after the government announced a range of new measures aimed at boosting the vaccine rollout, amid a race against the more transmissible Delta variant of the virus.

Reid said that 275,000 vaccinations have been administered so far this week, a slight uptick on the previous week, when 272,000 doses were doled out.

The HSE chief added that 50 Covid-19 patients are currently in hospital with the illness including 15 people in intensive care units.

Reid said keeping hospitalisations low was “a big challenge but we all want to protect where we’re at, for now.” 

Over 55% of the adult population now fully vaccinated & 70% partially. Over 275,000 vaccinations administered this week so far. Holding at 50 #COVID19 patients in hospital with 15 in ICU. A big challenge but we all want to protect where we're at, for now. @HSELive

— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) July 10, 2021

The milestone comes as talks between the government and the hospitality industry are set to continue over the weekend over plans to reopen indoor dining.

Representatives of the industry are pushing for a reopening date of 19 July, however some in government believe that plans will not be in place in time.

Tanáiste Leo Varadkar said Monday 19 July will be the earliest possible return date, while Monday 26 July will be the latest.

Yesterday, 631 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by public health officials. It was the first time that over 600 daily cases were recorded since late April.