The chief executive of the HSE Paul Reid has refused to confirm when the rollout of the Covid-19 booster vaccine will be extended to people over the age of 40.
According to The Irish Times, Mr Reid told RTÉ Radio that the HSE is continuing to concentrate on the administration of the jabs to people over the age of 50 and those with underlying conditions or weakened immune systems.
His comments came after a news bulletin on the station stated that people in the 40-49 age group could be offered their booster shot in the coming days.
Approximately 1.6 million people have received their booster jab to date, while 2.2 million are expected to have received it by the end of the month.
Walk-in vaccination centres continue to operate around the country this weekend, with long queues forming at some centres due to the high volume of people attending to receive the additional shot.
Earlier, the HSE asked people to avoid attending the vaccination centre at University College Dublin (UCD) as it had reached capacity.
Mr Reid said those who were turned away at UCD were instructed to attend other centres in the area where queues were shorter.
He said vaccination centres have been resourced "extremely well" over the past number of weeks, adding: "The vast majority of our sites have been coping very well with walk-ins."
Due to demand, the HSE has increased the number of walk-in vaccination centres to 33 while also extending the centres' operating hours.
