Covid vaccine portal for 35-39 age group opens from Sunday

Vaccinations underway at the mass vaccination centre in the Helix, DCU, Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

People aged between 35 and 39-years old can register for their Covid-19 vaccine from Sunday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has confirmed.

In a post on Twitter, Mr Donnelly said: "Delighted to announce for some of you under 40s - the registration for a Covid-19 vaccine will open to those aged 35-39 on Sunday.

"Starting with those age 39, 38 on Monday and so on."

Meanwhile, vaccinations for those aged 40 to 69 are continuing across the country.

Earlier this week, more than 1,000 pharmacists began playing their part in the country’s vaccination programme by starting to administer Covid-19 jabs.

The commencement of vaccinations at pharmacies could see the rollout pick up even more pace, given around 85% of the population lives within 5km of a pharmacy — much higher than the percentage that lives within range of a GP.

61% have received first jab

According to the latest statistics, 61 percent of the adult population has received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 31 percent are fully vaccinated. 

Speaking this afternoon, HSE Chief Exective Paul Reid also revealed that 56,000 doses were administered yesterday alone. 

Mr Reid said the coming weeks promise to be the busiest of the rollout so far. 

The HSE is now aiming to administer between 310,000 and 330,000 vaccines this week, and a further 300,000 next week.  

Vaccine hesitancies

Hesitancies around taking a Covid-19 vaccine stems from a gap in knowledge or awareness of the benefits, new research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found.

Researchers at the ESRI’s behavioural research unit tested the knowledge and surveyed the attitudes of a nationally representative sample of the adult population in January this year to find a clear gap in knowledge and awareness between those who were willing to take the vaccine and those who were not.

Participants were asked what they thought about the vaccine, how much they knew about it, what they saw as the greatest risks and benefits, and whether they planned to take it.

Through a multiple-choice quiz, participants were also tested on what they knew about the effectiveness of the vaccine, the development process, side-effects and, whether they would have to pay out-of-pocket for it.

Those planning to take the vaccine scored on average 67%, compared with 50% for those who were unsure, and 37% not planning to take it, the study, funded by the Department of Health, found.

Of those planning to take the vaccine, 91% cited at least one benefit, which compared to 50% of those who were unsure and 5% of those not planning to take the vaccine.

The research also found that the less people followed news coverage about Covid-19, the less likely they were to want to take the vaccine.