28 further deaths with 763 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland

Nphet have announced a further 28 further deaths related to Covid-19. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

There have been 28 further deaths related to Covid-19 reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team today.

There has also been a further 763 confirmed cases of the virus in Ireland.

Some 27 of these deaths occurred in February, and one in January.

Nphet reports that the median age of those who died was 79 years and the age range was 32-97 years.

A statement revealed that of today's cases 251 are in Dublin, with 84 in Galway and 57 in Kildare. 47 cases are in Limerick, 42 in Waterford and the remaining 282 cases are spread across all other counties.

Of today's cases:

• 370 are men 
• 388 are women 
• 72% are under 45 years of age 
• The median age is 30 years old

The death toll from the virus here now stands at 4,109 while there have been 213,400 total cases in Ireland.

As of 8am today, 754 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 151 are in ICU.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said, “The past year has been very difficult for people and we still have a way to go. Incidence remains very high and we cannot drop our guard.

“But better days are in sight. People continue to respond to public health advice and act in solidarity with one another. We have a dedicated and committed health workforce and we are learning more about this disease all the time. We now have three very safe and effective vaccines being rolled out and supply should increase very substantially over the coming weeks.

Please continue in your efforts as we seek to ensure that as many people as possible can benefit from vaccination.

Vaccines

Nphet confirmed that as of February 16, 293,752 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Ireland.

Some 187,893 people have received their first dose, while 105,859 people have received their second.

In other news, Pfizer and BioNTech have announced their Covid-19 vaccine no longer needs to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures, potentially paving the way for distribution to be dramatically expanded to doctors’ practices and pharmacies.

In a statement, the companies announced they have submitted new data to the US regulator which show the jab can be kept at normal medical freezer temperatures of minus 15 degrees to minus 25 degrees for up to two weeks.

Currently, the vaccine must be stored in an ultra-cold freezer at temperatures between minus 80 degrees and minus 60 degrees and must be shipped in ultra-cold containers.

An earlier study today showed that the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination is 85% effective against coronavirus infection between two and four weeks after inoculation.