'On the right side of the curve', says HSE chief as 89,000 people fully vaccinated

GP Mary Behan administering the Moderna vaccine against Covid-19 to GP Ellaheebuksh Muhammud Fardeen, VHI Clinic Dundrum, at a vaccination centre in Dublin as mass vaccination drive for GPs and practice nurses has begun in Ireland.

The head of the HSE says the country may now be on the right side of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases.

There are now 898 people with the virus being treated in hospitals and 171 in ICU - down from 207 at the start of the month.

"Both numbers are still higher than our peak last April but we get a good sense that we're on the right side of the curve now," said Paul Reid.

While this is positive news, Dr Nuala O'Connor from the Irish College of General Practitioners has warned people not to become complacent.

"Even though the numbers have dropped and we were around 6,500 cases every day in the first week in January, now down to less than 1,000 per day in the last week but there is still an awful lot of disease out there."

Over a quarter of a million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have now been administered in Ireland.

The latest figures up to Wednesday show 166,000 people have had their first jab - an increase of 8,000 from the previous day.

89,000 people have now been fully vaccinated - that is around 2% of the population.

Hundreds of GPs and practice nurses are receiving their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine today.

Doses of Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs are being administered at four vaccination centres in Dublin, Galway, Sligo and Portlaoise throughout the weekend.

It comes ahead of Monday's planned rollout of vaccines to the over 70s, starting with people aged 85 and older.

HSE Chief Clinical Officer, Dr Colm Henry, says the programme is being ramped up in the coming days.

"We'll see a significant scaling up this coming week, not just in terms of numbers - we hope to give out 79,000 this coming week - but also in terms of complexity.

"Just look at what is happening this coming week: we are giving the AstraZeneca vaccine out to healthcare workers, many first doses and we are completing the second dose for some healthcare workers; we are completing the second dose for many in residential care; and we are beginning the over-70s on Monday."

Picture: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland 

Meanwhile, the Tánaiste says the country will only reopen on a 'phased' and 'cautious' basis after Easter in early April.

Leo Varadkar says only schools, construction sites and some outdoor activities are likely to be up and running before then.

He says the Government and Nphet want to keep most of the current restrictions in place until the end of March.

The Tánaiste says even in April, there will not be a full reopening of society.

"If you go back to Christmas and the end of last year, what I indicated to businesses is that the first three months of this year were going to be very difficult and that we wouldn't see personal services, non-essential retail and certainly no hospitality really being able to open until the second quarter of the year.

"Realistically, it's the period after Easter and even then, not in one go. It will be done in phases.

"We are going to do this very conservatively and very cautiously."