Department of Health defends vaccine rollout

The Department of Health has defended the pace of vaccine rollout, insisting that the programme is limited only by supply.

It said the 500,000th dose of the vaccine would be administered within the next week.

In a statement this lunchtime, the department said Ireland is currently above the EU average with approximately 3% of the population fully vaccinated. It said 6% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.

He statement said: “The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme strategy is to distribute all vaccines that we receive as quickly as is operationally possible, subject to ensuring the availability of the second dose. Our programme is only limited by supply, and the rollout plans must be flexible to accommodate unforeseen events.”

The following is the total number of vaccines delivered to Ireland so far:

Vaccine deliveries for the month of March are still being finalised with manufacturers.

Advance planning for April, May and June shows Ireland receiving over one million doses per month in Advance Purchase Agreements. The delivery timeframes are still being worked on with manufacturers.

The make-up of the vaccines for Quarter 2 Forecasts are projected to be:

54% Pfizer

10% Moderna

21% AstraZeneca

15% Janssen*

* Subject to EMA authorisation.

The Department said further updates on vaccine deliveries will be issued on an ongoing basis.