Press release
Minister for Health welcomes significant uptake of booster vaccines in Ireland
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has welcomed the significant uptake in booster vaccines this week that has led to Ireland having the highest uptake of primary vaccination, and the second highest uptake for booster/third dose vaccination in the EU.
Since Monday, over 386,000 people have received a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines in a combination of walk-in vaccination centres, appointments based systems in vaccination centres and from their local GP and pharmacies. A total of 1.84m additional COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since this programme began.
Yesterday, (Thursday) 83,872 vaccines were administered.
So far this week, over 8,200 people have also presented for their first vaccine dose or second vaccine dose.
Minister Donnelly thanked pharmacists and GPs who had responded to his call for a “step change” in the national vaccine rollout. He said the HSE had progressed a number of significant changes in recent weeks, at his request, in order to accelerate our booster rollout.
He said:
"I don’t underestimate the logistical challenges that these demands have placed on the HSE, but it has responded brilliantly.
“I’d like to thank everyone working in our health and social care services. That includes everyone working in our hospitals and in the community, as well as those working in GP and dental practices, pharmacies, nursing homes, our ambulance service, the Department of Health and other public bodies and teams.
Speaking directly to those working across our health and social care service, Minister Donnelly said:
“Thank you. You have been at the forefront of this pandemic for almost two years. 2021 continued to be a challenging year and I am very aware of the sacrifices many of you made so that you could provide the best care to patients and your communities. The sacrifices you made will inevitably have impacted on your family and personal lives. I hope you get some well-deserved down-time this Christmas and would like to wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy Christmas.”
Minister Donnelly also thanked the public for its incredible support of the vaccine programme:
“For the last few weeks, myself and my colleagues in government along with our clinical experts in all disciplines have urged people in Ireland to attend for a booster, or indeed primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine and the high level of uptake is a testament to the ongoing efforts we are all making to layer up on all of the measures available to us including mask wearing, good ventilation, antigen testing and adherence to other public health measures."