Pharmacies around the country have joined the national vaccine rollout effort this week, beginning by offering the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) jab, also known as Janssen.
It is hoped this localised approach will encourage people who have not yet registered for the vaccine through the HSE vaccination portal to instead obtain the jab through their local pharmacy, and will not need to complete the online form required by the HSE system.
The first phase of the rollout of the vaccines in pharmacies will be for people over 50 who did not apply via the HSE portal when their age cohort was welcomed to do so.
Anyone over 50 who is not yet registered for their jab can now instead ring a participating pharmacy to make an appointment to receive their dose.
Currently, the single-dose J&J vaccine is the shot being offered in pharmacies, however they expect they will begin administering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine within weeks.
The HSE has set-up a dedicated webpage showing the participating pharmacies around the country, which can be viewed by county, making it easier to find the nearest location offering the jab.
Explaining the process, Darragh O'Loughlin from the Irish Pharmacy Union said: "If you are aged over 50 and you haven't registered on the HSE portal, that doesn't matter, you just make an appointment with your local pharmacy and they'll organise to get you vaccinated."
Meanwhile, the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has also confirmed the HSE registration portal will open for people aged 35-39 from Sunday, June 20th.
39-year-olds will be able to register to receive their vaccine on that day, followed by 38-year-olds on Monday, and so on until 35-year-olds on Thursday.
