IRELAND’S VACCINE ROLLOUT hit another milestone today, with more than 10% of the population having received at least their first dose of a Covid jab.

As of Thursday, 18 March, a total of 478,725 first doses of the three vaccines currently used in Ireland have been administered, representing 10.05% of people in Ireland.

175,526 second doses have been administered, meaning 3.69% of the population are now fully inoculated.

The focus of the vaccine rollout is currently on people aged over 70 and those between 16 and 69 with a medical condition that puts them at very high risk of severe disease from Covid-19.

The roll-out has been beset with uncertainty over supplies of the jabs, but falls within or above the European average of doses administered per capita and is largely complete among staff and residents of care homes, as well as frontline healthcare workers.

The figures are published with a two-day lag.

The estimate that 10% of the people have received their first dose is based on the 2016 Census, frequently used by health officials when calculating figures like these.

A more recent estimate of the population from the CSO would place this figure at 9.6% of the population.