Hundreds of people were turned away from walk-in vaccination centres this week.
The Health Service Executive of Ireland will look to address the overwhelming demand for the booster vaccine next week.
On Thursday, hundreds of people were turned away from walk-in centres that quickly hit full capacity, including those located at Croke Park and University College Dublin.
The booster vaccine is currently being offered to anyone in Ireland over the age of 50.
Anyone looking to receive the jab is asked to either attend a walk-in vaccination clinic, seek an appointment text via the HSE or contact a participating pharmacy or GP.
Earlier this week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin referred to tens of thousands of no-shows for booster vaccine appointments across the country.
On Tuesday, the Taoiseach told the Dáil that 208,000 appointments were offered to eligible people in the week beginning 22 November, but only 80,000 of those arrived to receive the booster.
In response, a representative for the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said that anyone who willingly misses out on a pre-booked appointment is being “very disrespectful” to vaccination centre staff.
However, the HSE has since confirmed that an IT issue has led to the booking of multiple appointments.
In response to the scenes on Thursday, the HSE will increase vaccine capacity from next week.
Speaking on The Tonight Show on Virgin Media One, the Taoiseach urged everyone in Ireland who is eligible for the booster vaccine to make an appointment.
Taoiseach Martin was speaking following the announcement of new Government advice relating to passengers arriving into Ireland from the UK.
People travelling from Britain are asked to undertake daily antigen tests for a period of five consecutive days, starting with the first day they arrive.
Should anyone return a positive antigen test or merely develop Covid symptoms, they are advised to self-isolate immediately and to book a PCR test.
The current requirement for all overseas passengers to have a “not-detected” pre-departure Covid test – antigen or PCR, depending on vaccine recovery status – will continue to apply.
Featured Image via Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
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