With constant bad news about Covid 19, the vaccine rollout offers a much-needed beacon of hope.
The Health Minister sent a memo to TDS in the middle of January saying information on how many vaccines had been administered would be updated daily on the Government's data hub from the 25th of this month.
However, this has not happened and the latest data up there is old.
Yesterday Stephen Donnelly tweeted to say 143,000 vaccinations had been completed up to Sunday, January 24th.
Regular daily information about the vaccine hasn’t been forthcoming yet.
Community vaccination
Meanwhile, community vaccination is still scheduled to begin next month despite issues with the delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Mr Donnelly said on Monday that Ireland will receive a delivery within the expected range of doses for February, “although at the lower end of that range”.
Non-healthcare workers over the age of 70 will begin in the middle of February as planned, he said.
Mr Donnelly said: “Today we have confirmed that the community vaccination programme will begin in February, subject to regulatory approval of AstraZeneca.
“Despite anticipated disruption to deliveries, which was announced on Friday January 22, Ireland will receive a delivery of AstraZeneca vaccine within the expected range for February, although at the lower end of that range.
“Delivery in March is likely to be more impacted and considerably lower than what was originally stated by the company.
“We continue to prioritise those most vulnerable to Covid-19 in our society against the backdrop of limited supply of vaccines.”
