Eleven further Covid-19 related deaths and 390 additional cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland today.
Of the deaths notified today, four occurred in April, two in March, four in February and one in January.
The median age of those who died was 83 years and the age range was 50-93 years.
There has been now been a total of 4,847 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.
There has now been a total of 244,297 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today:
- 215 are men/174 are women.
- 67 per cent are under 45 years of age.
- The median age is 34 years old.
- 172 cases are in Dublin, 42 in Kildare, 21 in Meath, 20 in Tipperary, 18 in Donegal and the remaining 117 cases are spread across 19 other counties.
As of 8am today, 179 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 48 are in ICU. 18 additional Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Irish hospitals in the past 24 hours.
As of April 18th, 1,208,459 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:
- 855,512 people have received their first dose.
- 352,947 people have received their second dose.
Meanwhile, Europe's drug regulator said on Tuesday it had found a possible link between Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine and rare blood clotting issues in adults who had received the shot in the United States.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said its safety committee concluded that a warning about unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be added to the vaccine's labels.
The EMA found that all instances had occurred in adults under 60 years, mostly women, within three weeks of vaccination, adding that all available evidence, including eight reports of cases in the United States, were part of its assessment.
It also said that most clots had occurred in the brain and abdomen, similar to AstraZeneca's vaccine, and reiterated that the vaccine's overall benefits outweigh risks.
