Walk-in vaccination centres to start offering second doses this weekend

The need to boost vaccine uptake is being driven by rising Covid cases, with unvaccinated people making up 62% of ICU patients. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Walk-in vaccination clinics will start offering second doses of Covid-19 jabs this weekend, meaning people will now be able to complete the vaccination process without even making an appointment.

It comes as almost half of children aged 12 to 15 have now registered for a vaccine and 72,000 have already received their first shot.

The need to boost vaccine uptake is being driven by rising Covid cases, with unvaccinated people making up 62% of ICU patients.

HSE chief Paul Reid welcomed the high vaccine uptake among children, with 124,000 of this age group registered.

In total, more than 6.3m doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been issued, including more than 2m by GPs and 215,000 in pharmacies.

At-home vaccination for frail people is also continuing and has been extended to under 70s.

Pressure growing on hospitals

However, pressure continues to grow on hospitals, with 244 Covid-19 patients in hospitals, including 54 in ICU, up from 36 last week.

About 20% to 23% of ICU admissions, and between 20% to 25% of daily case figures, are among those who are fully vaccinated.

Of total hospital admissions, 45% are fully vaccinated, while 52% are among people who are not fully vaccinated.

Hospitalisations among the double-jabbed are "overwhelmingly" in people with underlying conditions, the briefing heard.

Mr Reid said: "The vaccination status in ICU, 62% of ICU cases currently in hospital aren't vaccinated at all.

"They haven't had any vaccination, which is very high proportion of the population who have not been vaccinated.

"Fifteen per  cent are partially vaccinated, the remaining 20 to 23% are fully vaccinated."

HSE chief Paul Reid welcomed the high vaccine uptake among children, with 124,000 of this age group registered. Picture: Leah Farrell / Photocall Ireland

He added: "If you are vaccinated, you have significantly higher levels of protection from being hospitalised or entering ICU.

Prof Martin Cormican, the HSE's national lead for healthcare associated infection, said the figures were a reminder that the virus can be more severe for some.

He urged people to remain cautious, saying lifted restrictions "are not targets".

He said: "Overwhelmingly, the people who are in hospital fully vaccinated are people with underlying conditions.

I suppose that goes back to that point that we're making, even after you've got your seatbelt on, you need to drive at the speed that's right for you."

HSE lead for testing and tracing Niamh O’Beirne said the positivity level in the community continues to rise at more than 14% now. It has hit 25% among people aged 15 to 24.

This week, 13,088 cases were detected, an increase of 16% on last week, she said.

Family gatherings and weddings

She highlighted family gatherings and weddings as sources of infection, and said the numbers linked to hotels and restaurants are not significant although growing.

New figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, published on Thursday, show between August 8 to 14, 12 Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes were recorded – with 121 cases confirmed in total.

In the same time period, there were five outbreaks in acute hospitals and six in residential institutions.

One of those outbreaks was in a direct provision centre.

The figures also show three outbreaks occurred in the meat and poultry processing sector – in total, 29 outbreaks were linked to workplaces between August 8-14.