Muireann Duffy
The rollout of the Covid-19 booster vaccine is to be overhauled with healthcare and public sector staff being redeployed in an effort to tackle a potential wave of Omicron infections.
According to The Irish Times, hundreds of additional GPs and pharmacists will be asked to join the booster programme in order to administer as many jabs as possible to give the population better protection if the new variant becomes the dominant strain here.
Vaccination centres around the country will operate extended opening hours over the coming weeks, in addition to more centres being set-up. The testing capacity will also be increased to record levels under the new plans.
The Government hopes to see all GPs offering the booster jab, up from approximately 75 per cent currently, and 1,000 pharmacies, up from around 550.
It is expected that children in high-risk categories will begin receiving the vaccine from December 20th, followed by other cohorts on January 10th. People in their 30s and 40s are also expected to hear before Christmas as to when they will receive their additional dose.
On Tuesday evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed 1.25 million people have now received the booster jab, soon after chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan indicated approximately 14 per cent of new infections in the State are the Omicron variant.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) will meet again on Thursday to discuss the need for additional measures over Christmas to avoid a surge of infections as was seen last year. However, it is understood the Government is resistant to any such move.
