Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I was talking about the vaccination programme. A total of 1,655,866 vaccine doses were administered as of 4 May 2021. Some 1,201,373 people have received their first vaccine dose and 454,493 people are fully vaccinated. As of this morning, 430,758 people have registered to be vaccinated on the public online registration system. This means that 77% of those aged between 60 and 69 have made use of it. It is important to note that the percentage of 65 to 69-year-olds registering is a lot higher than 77%. The latest information I have is that the percentage is in the high 80s. The HSE is running the analysis on that. What this suggests, importantly, is that the total registration rates will continue to increase in the coming days and weeks. The total of those aged 57 to 59 who have registered is now 104,000. The majority of these applications have been made through the public portal, while HSELive registrations are currently running at about 13% of overall registrations. We are now inviting people in their mid to late 50s to register to be vaccinated. From this coming Sunday, the registration system will be opened for the 50 to 54-year-old cohort.

As vaccine supplies increase, a lot of work continues around the country to scale-up the vaccination programme. The estimated vaccinator workforce needed in the vaccination centres is 350 for April and 450 for May. Through hospital groups and community health organisations, 860 people are trained and available as vaccinators. Currently, 30 of the 38 vaccination centres are in operation, with the remainder planned to come into operation this month. This week a further 220,000 to 240,000 vaccine doses are scheduled to be administered with a view to building on the progress already made in relation to the target groups.

Our progress in relation to the vaccination programme compares well with those of the 30 EU-EEA countries referenced in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s Covid-19 vaccine tracker. Our strategy is to distribute all vaccines that we receive as quickly as is operationally possible, and we are doing this.

Our priority now is maintaining control over the disease and preventing a further wave of infection, until vaccination can offer widespread population-level protection. Significant progress has been made in managing the spread of the disease and this, coupled with the impact of the vaccination programme, is what is making it possible to open up our society and community again. It is critical that our approach to reopening continues to be cautious and gradual to enable a safe and sustainable reopening and to ensure we protect the gains of recent months and vital public services.

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