Culture
22 Mar 21

President Michael D. Higgins and wife Sabina receive their first Covid vaccination

"Their turn having come, President Higgins and Sabina were grateful to receive their first COVID-19 vaccination from their local GP on Friday."

The good news has come that the President and his wife Sabina Higgins have received their first COVID-19 vaccination dose from their local GP.

This follows news that there is a possibility of another Covid surge ahead of the decision time where the government will discuss lifting level 5 lockdown restrictions. NPHET reported 769 new cases on Sunday (March 21), as well as two deaths. Health officials had been expressing concerns that case numbers would rise after the surge in public mingling from good weather, Mother's Day, and St. Patrick's Day.

The President's vaccination comes less than a week after his annual St. Patrick's Day message, where President Higgins stressed the importance of understanding and empathy in the fight against Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the AstraZeneca vaccine – which had until recently been a "tough sell" to patients, according to Doctor Paul O'Keeffe of Broadale Surgery in Cork – has been newly labelled safe, and "100% effective" against severe disease and hospitalisation, in its latest human trial. The US trial involved 32, 000 volunteers across all age groups.