Croke Park joins list of vaccination rollout centres

The HSE confirmed that Croke Park will join the other GAA stadiums, around the country, as a vaccination centre.

The HSE has confirmed Croke Park will host 10 vaccination booths, following similar steps taken at other GAA stadiums.

The GAA headquarters will open from 8am to 8pm seven days per week from May, a spokeswoman said. 

Residents living near Croke Park have been told that the Hogan Stand area of the stadium will be used for the vaccine rollout.

Appointments can be booked on the HSE portal when that goes live for public use.

Páirc Uí Chaoimh and GAA clubs in Mallow and Clonakilty are among other sites already locked into the vaccination programme. The Kerry Sports Academy in Tralee will also host a centre.

The latest figures for the national vaccination programme reveal that there are 224,141 fully vaccinated people. 

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine continues to be the most widely used with 604,779 jabs given so far.

However, just 20,521 people in the medically vulnerable category (group 4) have had their first shot of AstraZeneca.

The Irish Medical Organisation said some people in the Group 4 category on the list will be vaccinated by GPs instead of in hospitals. 

GPs will now vaccinate about 88,000 people including those with diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, obesity and Prader Willi syndrome.

Dr Denis McCauley from the Irish Medical Organisation said:

 “I don’t think we can get the (case) numbers lower now because of this variant. We really have got to vaccinate now, vaccinate hard and vaccinate fast.” 

He said there is a lot of work involved in this new arrangement for GPs, but he expects each practice to have an average of around 50 patients.

The IMO also told GPs there will be a supply shortfall for older people getting the mRNA vaccines Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna in early April.

They said supply issues will be “fully resolved” from the week of April 19, but in the meantime, GPs should not book patients until they receive their shipments.

The update says: “There will be variations between the allocated amount and the number of patients in relevant age cohorts.” 

GPs were told to prioritise people getting their second dose.

Those announcements came in the context of changes of the vaccine sequencing, which will operate in terms of age-groups once the most vulnerable are vaccinated.

The likes of teachers and gardaí could now find some of their younger members could be moved down the priority listings.

It is understood Cabinet discussed this following a review by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). This found no higher risk, independent of age and underlying conditions to any particular occupation.