Northern Ireland report two deaths and 98 Covid-19 cases
Health Minister Swann has welcomed the news those aged 40-44 will be able to book a jab appointment from Thursday.
Northern Ireland’s Department of Health has confirmed two further Covid-19 related deaths with the death toll standing at 2,123.
According to the NI Department of Health, 98 new cases of Covid-19 have also been reported, bringing the total number of positive cases to 117,919 since the start of the pandemic.
Over the past seven days, 535 individuals have tested positive in NI, with 102 people hospitalised with the virus and 12 in intensive care.
The Department of Health #COVID19 dashboard has been updated.
— Department of Health (@healthdpt) April 8, 2021
98 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Sadly, 2 deaths have been reported.https://t.co/UGfvjc8ZtO pic.twitter.com/Y7SIQM5mBx
NI vaccination programme has now expanded to those aged between 40 and 44.
Those in that age bracket will be able to book their Covid vaccine appointment from Thursday.
Health Minister Robin Swann described the expansion as “very welcome news to people in this age group.”
“Vaccination is by far our best defence against Covid-19 and is essential to our goal of getting Northern Ireland out of lockdown on a sustainable basis,” he said.
Those under 30 due to be vaccinated will be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, the health department confirmed on Wednesday, due to concerns over “extremely rare” blood clots linked with the vaccine.
