THE IRISH AIR Corps has delivered the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines to both the Aran Islands in Galway and Arranmore Island in Donegal.

The delivery was made following a request by the HSE.

Three shipments of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine were flown by helicopter, from Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, to the Inishmore and Inisheer islands, as well as Arranmore Island.

Local GP’s have since received the shipment, and the vaccines will be administered to local residents of the three islands.

The Defence Forces have said that it marks a significant milestone in the vaccine rollout, and that it will continue to support the HSE in any way it can.

GP’s first began the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines for over 85s on Monday, with 12,000 doses of vaccines initially expected to be administered to that age cohort.

An additional 42,000 doses are expected to be delivered to over 85s next week, with some of these doses being allocated to people in the 80-84 age cohort.

Earlier in the week, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told the Dáil that the over-70 age group would be fully vaccinated by “mid-May”.