They will also have the option to wait for an mRNA vaccine.
People in their 40s could be given the choice of the AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccine as the HSE received information from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) on Monday.
People aged in their 40s are also expected to be given the option of waiting to receive an mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) vaccine.
The HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said the latest vaccine administration advice was received over the weekend.
Henry said the advice will be assessed and considered as part of the national rollout.
Speaking to Newstalk’s The Pat Kenny Show, he said that the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be administered in the 40-49 age cohort “with some conditions attatched”.
“We received some information over the weekend indicating the line of thinking of NIAC, as it was relayed by the CMO to the Minister of Health, and that certainly shows that NIAC certainly considered the administration of these vector vaccines, the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, to 40-49-year-olds with some conditions attached,” he said
“We have to go through those, and they include ensuring that people have proper information that would involve them getting that vaccine at a quicker timescale than other vaccines, and so on.”
The exact details of NIAC’s advice and conditions for the vaccination of the age group have not been publicly confirmed as of yet.
The HSE has said that people aged between 40 and 50 will be called to register for a Covid-19 vaccine as early as next week.
While the HSE is still managing the fallout of Friday’s cyberattack, its CEO Paul Reid confirmed on Saturday that Ireland’s vaccination programme is continuing “at pace”.
Asked on RTÉ’s Saturday with Katie Hannon when 40 to 50-year-olds will be allowed to register on the HSE’s vaccine portal, Reid replied: “Our process had always been to work through up to the age of 50s which we have done.
“There’s always a brief period before we move onto the next age group – 40 to 50 will be next.
“We’ll be communicating out on that later next week, for people to start registering on that portal.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
