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The first delivery of nearly 10,000 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in Ireland today.
The first vaccines are expected to be administered on Wednesday.
Health Service CEO Paul Reid described it as a “momentous day” and “there are sure to be better days ahead.”
It comes as medical director Dr. Tony Holohan confirmed that a more contagious form of coronavirus has been detected in Ireland.
He said the Health Service Executive is making arrangements to test recent arrivals to the UK and that anyone arriving from the country must be strictly isolated for a full 14 days after entering Ireland.
No new inter-county travel will be allowed starting tomorrow, although people already away from home for Christmas can return to their own counties.
Yesterday, the Department of Health confirmed 1,025 new cases of Covid-19 with two more deaths.
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An early morning start to a momentous day. Departing to receive the first delivery of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for HSE. There are sure to be better days ahead. For now, #Stay safe. @HSELive # COVID-19
– Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) December 26, 2020
The latest HSE figures show that there were 260 people with Covid-19 in Irish hospitals at 8pm last night, four more than the night before.
Hospitals with the highest number of patients include Beaumont with 52, Letterkenny University Hospital with 26, and Tallaght University Hospital with 22.
The figures also show that as of last night, there were 25 Covid-19 patients in intensive care, with 13 of them on ventilators.
There were 64 intensive care beds available.
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