More than 250,000 Covid-19 vaccines have now been administered at pharmacies across Ireland
Pharmacist Niamh Boden with Dorothy Fisher (age 68) in Dunville Community Pharmacy in Ranelagh, Dublin. File Picture: Sasko Lazarov / Photocall
More than 250,000 Covid-19 vaccines have now been administered at pharmacies across the country, according to new figures from the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU).
In a statement, the IPU said more than 170,000 people between the ages of 20 and 39 had received a vaccine in a pharmacy to date.
More than 50,000 have been given to those aged between 12 and 19, the IPU said, with 14,650 of these going to 12- to 15-year-olds.
With almost 1,000 Irish pharmacies currently offering the Pfizer vaccine, the IPU has said the rollout will continue for people over the age of 12 over the coming weeks.
Speaking this afternoon, IPU president Dermot Twomey said the vaccination programme in pharmacies had been of “immense value” to communities around the country, and that the uptake and demand for vaccines amongst younger cohorts had been "exceptional."
"The high demand to date amongst younger age groups has highlighted the advantages of community pharmacy involvement in the vaccination programme," he said.
"This is particularly the case for many young people, particularly those in school or third-level education who might find it difficult to travel to a vaccine centre.”
Citing the current high number of cases of the Delta variant, Mr Twomey urged anyone, particularly those in younger age groups, to book an appointment for a vaccine at their local pharmacy, if they had not done so already.
“When called upon by the HSE, the community pharmacy sector has delivered and will continue to do so," he said.
"The gradual return to normality has come about thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout, helped by the participation of pharmacies across the country.
"Pharmacies are delighted to be playing a central role in the vaccine rollout,” he added.
