Niamh Griffin: It's a race of vaccines vs variant once again

An updated booster plan is now expected within days to ensure 1.5m people are boosted by Christmas.

All eyes are on the Covid-19 booster campaign this week, as over-50s join the queues, with over-40s expected to be added as early as next week.

The Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has confirmed the gap between the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and the booster dose will now be just three months as the country tries to respond to the Omicron variant.