LAST UPDATE | 2 Jan 2022
BOOSTER VACCINES ARE now available for anyone over the age of 16, with a self-referral portal now available online as Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says ICU capacity will be increased further this year.
Up until today, booster vaccines were only available to people aged over 30, or people over 16 who received the single-shot Janssen vaccine.
Originally, booster vaccines for those aged 16 and up were scheduled to begin on 10 January, but this was brought forward by eight days by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
Those aged over 16 will be able to access the jab through vaccination centres, community pharmacies and GPs on an appointment basis. There are also some walk-in vaccination clinics set to take place for over-16s today.
People can book a booster vaccine through the HSE’s self-referral portal.
Pleased to announce we’re opening our booster vaccine programme to ALL remaining age groups earlier than scheduled. From this Sunday (January 2) all those aged 16 and older who are eligible to receive a booster vaccine can access this service via HSE vaccination centres 1/2
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) December 31, 2021
Currently, people aged between 16 and 29 are only eligible to receive a Pfizer booster, as the Moderna jab is only approved for people over 30.
To be eligible to receive a booster vaccine, it must be at least three months since they finished their initial course of vaccination. If a person was confirmed to have a case of Covid-19, they should wait three months after being a confirmed case before getting their booster.
As of Friday, there have been 2,057,031 booster vaccines administered across the country.
In a series of tweets this morning, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that the Irish vaccination programme has been “superb”, and that we are in a better position at the start of 2022 compared to 2021 due to the uptake.
“Our vaccination rollout has been superb. We have the 2nd highest uptake of booster vaccines in the EU. This is something everyone should be really proud of – an incredible national effort,” said Donnelly.
Donnelly said that while there has been an increase in ICU beds in 2021, he added that “much more is needed”.
“At the start of 2020, we’d 255 adult critical care beds. We now have 296. HSE was funded to deliver 321 (a 25% increase) last year, but some building work was delayed due to Covid.
“More ICU beds will open this year and I brought a proposal to Cabinet to increase overall critical care capacity to 446 beds. Our legacy deficit is being addressed and we are funding as many ICU beds as the HSE can open.”
Donnelly also said that there were 800 new permanent hospital beds opened, and that additional beds are planned for 2022.
Our critical care/ICU capacity has increased but much more is needed. We came from a low base. At the start of 2020 we'd 255 adult critical care beds. We now have 296. HSE was funded to deliver 321 (a 25% increase) last year, but some building work was delayed due to Covid 9/10
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) January 2, 2022
School reopening
Earlier today, HSE Chief Clinical Officer Colm Henry said that at least 3,800 HSE staff were out on Covid-related leave across the country.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week programme, Henry said, “If you look at our entire complement of staff that serve in intensive care units, 1,800 in total, and perhaps 200 of those are out on Covid-related leave.”
“We have mandated hospitals to take whatever actions, to redeploy staff, to prioritise urgent, time-critical services, and that means at this point in time we are seeing the Mater Hospital in severe trouble with one in 10 staff off with Covid-related leave.”
Meanwhile, the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin is urging patients to patients to only attend its Emergency and Assessment Unit if absolutely necessary.
In a tweet, the maternity hospital said the unit is experiencing a “high volume” of activity.
Patients who have concerns are urged to ring the unit on to ring the Unit if you have concerns on 1800 522 687.
Speaking separately on This Week, Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan said today that he expects schools, colleges and creches to reopen after the Christmas break, despite record levels of Covid-19 cases being recorded over the last week.
When questioned about the high case levels and potential school closures due to lack of substitute teacher cover, Ryan accepted that some schools may close.
He said that schools had managed very well and that each individual school would have different circumstances, saying that primary schools may face more issues than secondary schools
“Each school will have different circumstances, it’ll be more difficult probably in primary than in secondary because it’s more difficult, particularly for smaller schools, to get relief teachers in,” said Ryan.
He said that he doesn’t believe the solution is shutting down schools.
Ryan also said that while the current wave of Omicron cases is set to be high, modelling has been provided to the Government that shows that the cases will drop off from their peak much quicker than in previous waves.
When asked about potential shortages of staff due to illness, Ryan said that the Government would examine reducing isolation for close contacts, citing international examples like recommendations from the Centre for Disease Control in the US.
Antigen tests
Ryan also confirmed that positive HSE antigen tests could soon be included in the daily Covid figures published by the Department of Health, as reported by the Business post this morning.
Speaking on Newstalk’s On the Record programme this afternoon, Ryan was asked by presenter Shane Beatty if the Government had discussed it as an option and whether it would alleviate pressure on the PCR system.
“Yes,” the minister said. However, he added, “It’s slightly complicated as we switch due to pressure on the PCR testing system — just the sheer volume.
“But also antigen [testing] will have an increasing role as part of the screening system. ”
Last week, Stephen Donnelly announced that people aged between four and 39 should not book a PCR test if they are symptomatic. Instead, they should isolate and use repeated antigen tests.
“For those under 39, they will be able to be sent an antigen test in the post from the HSE,” Ryan said this afternoon.
He added, “They should use that. If it’s positive, they should follow up with a PCR test but that will help manage the pressure on the PCR system.”
Additional reporting by Ian Curran
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