MORE THAN 230,000 vaccine doses have been administered in Ireland as of last Friday, the Department of Health confirmed this evening. 

A total of 151,212 people have received their first dose and 79,554 of these have received their second dose.

The latest figures were confirmed after health officials reported 829 new cases of Covid-19 and six more deaths. 

The HSE has said that a further 29,000 vaccines will be administered in 78 long-term residential care settings, to frontline healthcare workers and to GPs this week. 

Healthcare workers with direct patient contact as well as residents at long-term residential care facilities over the age of 65 have been first to receive the vaccine. 

Both vaccines currently being used in the roll-out – the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine – are mRNA vaccines that require a two-dose schedule.

Up to last Friday, 230,766 doses of vaccine were administered. This accounts for 151,212 first doses and 79,554 second doses. #COVID19 #COVIDVaccine

— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) February 8, 2021

Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Anne Rabbitte TD, today confirmed the roll out of vaccinations for frontline disability service workers.

“Registration for vaccination will be available online from tomorrow, Tuesday 9th February,” she said. 

“It’s vital that all staff register as soon as possible to ensure that the scheduling of vaccination appointments for frontline healthcare more generally can proceed.”

It comes after virologist Cillian De Gascun said this evening that all 11 cases of the South African variant detected in Ireland were as a direct result of travel and that the main strain of infections in Ireland (over 75%) is the British variant. 

South Africa itself suspended the start of its AstraZeneca inoculation programme over concerns the shot does not work on the SA variant, with WHO experts due to meet to discuss the vaccine already facing questions about its efficacy for over-65s.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that while all variants of the disease are concerning, there are still three vaccines which work to suppress the most prevalent variants Ireland is seeing. 

“Early preliminary information on the AstraZeneca vaccine in relation to the South African variant suggests that it may not be as good in that, in that for that particular variant.

“As I said, the confidence intervals are really, really wide and by that I mean there’s a huge amount of uncertainty about what’s been reported. And it’s simply too early to conclude so of course, you’re monitoring the situation and are monitoring the variant in Brazil as well.

“And a key part of the challenge is to keep those variants out. And when they do, as they will, arrive on this island to identify them, and contain them as swiftly as possible and ensure that there isn’t any onward spread. And hopefully, so far we’ve managed to do that from relation to South Africa.”