Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said that three million vaccines will be administered by the weekend.
Taking to Twitter, Donnelly described this as an “amazing achievement”.
“This weekend we’re expecting to administer the three millionth COVID-19 vaccine dose in Ireland”, tweeted Donnelly.
“This is an amazing achievement and well done and thanks to all of those involved”, he added.
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This weekend we're expecting to administer the three millionth COVID-19 vaccine dose in Ireland. This is an amazing achievement and well done and thanks to all of those involved. #ForUsAll pic.twitter.com/wafmHu5x4n
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) June 4, 2021
It was also confirmed that as of Thursday, 10.5% of Ireland has been fully vaccinated against the virus.
This also comes as new evidence is showing people’s immunity post Covid lasts for 9 months. More on that here.
Cases rise in Limerick
Stephen Donnelly and Dr Tony Holohan are to meet with officials in Limerick. They are to discuss the recent spike in cases in the county.
Dr Holohan said that 800 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last fortnight. Most of these cases coming from indoor gatherings.
Dr Holohan tweeted on Thursday, “It is extremely important that everyone in the Limerick region continues to adhere to the public health advice”.
The CMO’s much-maligned tweet regarding large crowds gathering in Dublin was recently defended by Higher Education minister Simon Harris.
“I think Dr Tony Holohan has just steered our country through a very difficult time”, Harris said. “I’ve nothing but praise and gratitude for his work”.
Harris also said that councils must “up their game” as outdoor dining returns from Monday (June 7).
Regarding large crowds that congregated in Dublin, Harris did not pass judgement onto those involved.
This also comes after Leo Varadkar said that footage of large crowds being released online, can lead to an “overreaction”.
Varadkar said that it was important to remember that people are still being encouraged to socialise outdoors. More on that here.
“Very welcome”
The HSE boss Paul Reid called the intervention from representatives for the local community “very welcome”.
“And that’s exactly what is happening in Limerick, so what we are seeing is high level of outbreaks in workplace settings, in social settings, in gatherings, in households”, Reid said.
“All of that put together, puts it in a very volatile situation”, he added.
Paul Reid also stated that even though Ireland’s vaccination programme has made huge progress, people must continue to adhere to public health guidelines, especially those that have not been vaccinated.
“We have 53 per cent of the population vaccinated but it is important to say, 47 per cent of the population aren’t vaccinated”, Reid said.
Reid continued, “It is an important message to everybody, nobody is immune to this virus and for people who aren’t vaccinated in particular, you do have a high level of exposure”.
“We are seeing huge benefits from the vaccination program but it is still important to remind everybody that this virus is still out there, it’s still transmitting”.
