“Just remember the dark days in January with over 2,000 people in hospitals and over 220 in ICU."
HSE chief Paul Reid has said that all 450,000 people waiting for their second dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will receive it by "the week commencing 19 July."
eid said that everyone who is to receive a second AstraZeneca vaccine dose will have been offered it within the next five weeks as supply lines have been "firmed up".
The HSE Chief said that an estimated 100,000 people per week will receive their second dose of the AstraZeneca jab over the course of the next month.
“The second dose of AstraZeneca provides a 92% effectiveness against hospitalisation with the new Delta variant, so it's really important people come forward now in this accelerated programme,” Reid said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Wednesday.
“We should have well significant supplies to complete the programme by the week commencing 19 July."
Reid added that evidence is "compelling" that people need two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to be protected from the Delta variant.
Reid said that there are "really strong benefits" to the vaccine rollout, adding: "Just remember the dark days in January with over 2,000 people in hospitals and over 220 in ICU."
Ireland yesterday reported 283 new cases, 60 hospitalisations and 23 people in ICU.
Reid said that a further 366,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive here this month but added that no further doses will be delivered after the rollout at the end of July due to recommendations from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC).
58% of the population in the Republic of Ireland have currently received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 28% of people are now fully vaccinated against the virus.
3.25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have now been administered, with between 310,000 and 330,000 doses expected to be administered this week alone.
