Ireland's Covid-19 vaccine registration portal will begin to open for those aged 40 to 44 from Wednesday.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly confirmed that online registration will commence this week for the age group in a post on Twitter.
He said those aged 44 will be able to register on June 2nd, while those aged 43 can do so on June 3rd. The portal will open to those a year younger on each subsequent day.
🚨🚨 Delighted to be able to share that the online registration for a COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 40-44 will commence this Wednesday, June 02 - starting with those aged 44 that day and those aged 43 on Thursday and so on. pic.twitter.com/sZ6cmGjZkX
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) May 31, 2021
It is expected that the majority of the age group will be vaccinated by the end of June or into July, according to the HSE's chief clinical officer.
The Government has set a new vaccination target, aiming to ensure 60 per cent of the population, or 2.5 million people, are fully vaccinated by the end of July.
Dr Colm Henry told Newstalk radio that Irish uptake of the vaccine is the envy of Europe.
“Over 80 years of age, 98 per cent of eligible people have taken it; 70-79 year olds took it in their droves, 95 per cent; 60-69 year olds – we were worried because it was the AstraZeneca vaccine – almost 90 per cent uptake,” he said.
“And so it is with 50-59 years olds, and so on right down.”
He added that the ability of the virus to cause harm is “significantly reduced”, saying: “We’ve really given this virus a kick in the you-know-what.”
Totals
It comes as half the population has now received a first dose of a vaccine, according to the chief of the health service.
Paul Reid said 50 per cent of the adult population has had one dose while close to 20 per cent of people have had a second dose. “Reduced illness, sickness, mortality and a massive take-up,” he noted on Twitter.
Over one million people were vaccinated in May and a total of 2.7 million vaccines have now been administered, he added.
The latest data on the number of vaccines administered in the Republic has not been available since the cyberattack on the HSE.
