'Great momentum' as 1.6m vaccine doses administered, says HSE chief

Vials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine are stored in a temperature-controlled fridge. File picture

The head of the HSE has said 1.6m doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland.

Paul Reid said that more than 788,000 vaccines had been administered through April and that there was “great momentum on vaccinations”.

Writing on social media, Mr Reid said that the HSE’s revised plan for the rollout “will aim to continue momentum and work down through the ages with available supplies”.

Great momentum on vaccinations. Almost 200K done last week (>200K when some data is uploaded). >44K done on Friday. >1.6M done in total. Over 788,000 done through April. Our revised plan will aim to continue momentum & work down through the ages with available supplies @HSELive

— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) May 3, 2021

 

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has urged people who are fully vaccinated to begin to return to normal life.

He said that the vaccines have “enabled those most at risk to regain many freedoms that were taken from you by this virus”.

He said that while some may be anxious, he called on people to have confidence in the jab.

“I know that those of you who remained indoors, cut social contacts and continue to do everything to protect yourself from Covid-19 may be anxious at the idea of reopening your social circle, even in a safe and controlled way and even though you have been vaccinated.

"While this anxiety is understandable, you can have confidence in your vaccine, no matter which one you received,” the CMO said.

Meanwhile, hospitalisations due to Covid-19 rose slightly on Monday, with 129 patients with the virus in hospital.

However, hospitalisations have fallen in recent weeks, and they are now at their lowest levels since October 2020.

There are 40 confirmed cases in ICUs around the country, a number at its lowest level since December last year.

On Sunday, Nphet confirmed one further death and 402 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.