The head of the HSE's vaccination programme says the flexibility given to people to attend different centres may explain the current high no-show rate for booster appointments.
Some facilities around the country are reporting no-show rates of up to 50 per cent.
Boosters are now approved for everyone over 50, as well as people with underlying conditions.
Damien McCallion says a number of factors could be behind low attendance.
"You may recall at some stage we offered flexibility to people. There may be some factors like that which could explain some elements of it [no-shows] and I'm aware of other elements we're looking into. Broadly speaking, we would have seen in some of the clinics particularly low attendance. What we're saying is the message you want to get across is: the booster shot is really important."
No-show rates
At a briefing on Thursday afternoon, health officials said they were seeing 50 per cent no-show rates in some areas.
While around 1,500 people a day are getting vaccinated, according to HSE figures, there are concerns that eligible people are not coming forward fast enough for booster jabs.
The Government is placing faith in a successful booster campaign, as the fragile health system tries to cope with a dangerous surge in Covid-19 cases.
Health officials accepted it may take until next spring for some groups to receive a booster vaccine, although they stressed this was largely down to the need to leave a five-month period between an individual receiving a full dose and the extra shot.
We need those appointments utilised
HSE chief executive Paul Reid said: “We have seen some no-show rates in some centres varying from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.
“So it’s a really important call to everybody. We are going to be dealing with significant levels of the population. We need those appointments utilised.
“And maybe just due to a sense of security among people feeling they have had two vaccines and don’t need a booster. But we do know it’s really important for people to come forward to for it.” - Additional reporting from Press Association
