All adults could be vaccinated by end of August - HSE chief

HSE CEO Paul Reid: Said over 200,000 one-shot Janssen vaccines are available in July, with more expected in August. Picture: Sam Boal

Ireland could have its entire adult population vaccinated by the end of August, according to the CEO of the HSE.

That is due to a revamped vaccination plan, including one million additional doses sourced from Romania and the potential for further doses from other EU and non-EU partners.

Vaccination of those aged 18-34 is due to begin today as the Government races to accelerate the programme.

HSE CEO Paul Reid said yesterday that over 200,000 one-shot Janssen vaccines are available in July, with more expected in August.

"Every 27,500 people or so is another percentage of the population completed, so that really gives us a potential of up to about 5% extra being completed in July, so it's very significant for us in terms of full completion of vaccines," he said.

"If we fully utilise all of those 200,000 of Janssen, that can bring us closer to 68% by the end of July."

He said an extra one million jabs from Romania would see a further 500,000 (12% of the population) also vaccinated.

"It could bring us right back to the end of August, early September," for all people to be fully vaccinated, Mr Reid said.

Mr Reid said that the HSE is considering a further revamp to the vaccine strategy but said that extending vaccination to teenagers is not under consideration.

The news comes as 562 new cases were recorded, the highest number of new cases in two months, as the presence of the Delta variant increases.

Some 120,000 Johnson & Johnson jabs will be distributed to chemists over the next week.

Pharmacies are due to begin administering Covid-19 vaccines to people aged 18 to 34 from today.

Some 120,000 Johnson & Johnson jabs will be distributed to chemists over the next week.

Darragh O'Loughlin from the Irish Pharmacy Union said there is huge demand for these jabs.

“In a lot of pharmacies, they’ve got people lined up to start getting vaccinated as early as this morning.

“The feedback from people aged between 18 and 34 who now have this opportunity to get vaccinated at the start of the summer has been really positive.

“We’ve had feedback from all around the country from pharmacists in small towns all across the country telling us how delighted people are at the opportunity to get vaccinated,” he said.

Elsewhere, government ministers are due to meet hospitality representatives today about plans to reopen indoor dining, while it was also revealed that the Government is considering including antigen testing results as part of the new vaccine certificate.

The certificate is to take the form of a QR code on a smartphone as well as a paper certificate for those without a smartphone.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney said antigen tests may play a role, but "it's too early to say yet".

The advice given last week from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) specified only that full vaccination or immunity from Covid due to catching the disease should be used in a domestic Covid certificate. However, the Government is considering including negative test results as part of the measures in order to expand restrictions on indoor activity.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney said antigen tests may play a role, but "it's too early to say yet". Ireland is monitoring how such tests are used in other countries and may consider their use in news which should be a welcome relief for the under- pressure hospitality sector.

"We'll continue to work with all stakeholders to make the right decisions in the next few weeks, and hopefully we'll be able to reopen indoor activity in an appropriate way that's safe," Mr Coveney said.

"We'll certainly will have a decision by July 19 and certainly we'd like to action that decision as soon as possible," he said.

Hospitality representatives have demanded a date for reopening as well as Nphet's presence in the taskforce meetings to ensure any plan is workable under public health guidance, though public health officials will not be present at today's summit.

Pressure to reactivate the sector fully is growing amid fears that more businesses could shut their doors permanently.

New figures from Deloitte show that insolvencies are expected to rise again on the back of a delayed full reopening of the economy and the eventual phasing out of government supports.

Deloitte has warned that the full effects of the Covid crisis on the economy "have not fully materialised as yet", and predicted further insolvencies when Covid supports are unwound.

“The continued low level of corporate insolvency activity is likely to be influenced by the broad range of government measures introduced to support businesses,” David van Dessel, financial advisory partner with Deloitte Ireland, said.