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The deputy medical director has said that an increase in mobility indicators in the population “is cause for concern.”
The National Public Health Emergency Team said mobility indicators are low and there was continued, slower but steady progress across all disease indicators.
In his latest letter to the Minister of Health, sent last Thursday and published today, Dr Ronan Glynn said that the situation in Ireland is improving but remains finely balanced.
He said the number of cases is slowly decreasing from -2% to -4% per day.
Meanwhile, this week will see the first Covid-19 vaccines among medically vulnerable people between the ages of 16 and 69 who are at very high risk of serious illness and death.
This will be the fourth cohort on the priority list to get vaccinated.
It is estimated that there could be up to 160,000 people between the ages of 16 and 69 who are considered to be at high risk of contracting Covid-19 due to a serious illness.
The Health Service Executive said that the first 10,000 patients in this group will receive their first dose of vaccine later this week, starting with people with neurological conditions in disability settings.
In addition, those 85 and older who have not yet received their first dose, believed to be about 500 people, will receive their injections this week, along with other homebound patients.
Another 37,000 doses have been allocated for people ages 80 to 84 this week, out of the overall goal of more than 84,000 to be administered this week.
The latest figures released by the HSE show that 513,322 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered as of last Friday.
This comprised 363,601 first doses and 149,721 second doses.
Those who have received a second dose are considered fully vaccinated.
In cohort 3, more than 92,000 first doses have been given, mainly to people aged 85 and over, but also to some in the 80-84 age group.
Separately, the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals is now 419, up from 423 yesterday.
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“They take out the vaccines as fast as they come in”
.@SimonHarrisTD Says A “Very Small Number” Over 85 Years Old Still Need to Get Vaccinated, But Says Over 95% of That Cohort Has Been Vaccinated So Far | More: https://t.co/QsZqtKXOuy pic.twitter.com/vDIdAjxZi9
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 8, 2021
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said that the HSE and GPs are throwing the blows as fast as they are coming.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, she said the government was trying to share information to the best of its ability and that it was important that it be transparent with the people, but it depended on supply.
Harris said AstraZeneca has now appointed a country manager, adding that a fourth vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) could be approved this week.
“We are dependent on supply and HSE is not responsible for global supply problems”@SimonHarrisTD Says Ireland Will See “Very Significant Increase” To Its Vaccination Program With EMA Approval Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine | https://t.co/QsZqtKXOuy pic.twitter.com/FnbmSwfHPb
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 8, 2021
The Health Products Regulatory Authority of Ireland has said it is closely following an Austrian investigation into reports of adverse events after vaccinating a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Austrian authorities are investigating the death of one person and the illness of a second after receiving the vaccine.
As a precaution, Austria has suspended inoculations of a specific lot of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The HPRA said there is currently “no evidence of a causal relationship” between the vaccine and the events.
Additional reporting Laura Hogan
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