'Safety first:' Health chief defends speed of Ireland's vaccine rollout

The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine arriving in the Republic of Ireland. Picture: Micheál Martin/Twitter

The speed of Ireland's vaccine rollout has been defended by a health chief who also repeated the claim that the country is experiencing the third wave of Covid-19. 

While the first vaccinations are now to be issued tomorrow, a day earlier than planned, Ireland is still lagging behind some other European countries in terms of issuing vaccines to nursing home residents and the broader population.