HSE hopes to vaccinate 35,000 people by the end of this week

The HSE has released the first round of vaccine figures, announcing that 15,314 people have received the Covid-19 jab in the Republic of Ireland thus far.

Speaking at a press conference, the HSE’s chief executive Paul Reid confirmed that each person received the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

The HSE said it hopes to have 35,000 people inoculated by the end of this week, after just under 41,000 doses were received by the health service.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the nation will receive 110,000 doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, which was been approved for use in the EU yesterday by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

“We got a provisional schedule late last night on Moderna that says that for quarter one...we are expecting to receive 110,000 vaccines, and we hope there’s more,” the minister said.

In the first three months of 2021, Ireland is slated to receive about 360,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Here’s Paul Reid with the detail.pic.twitter.com/IoUtliclyo

— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) January 7, 2021

Meanwhile, the Government has appointed an experienced PR professional to oversee communications around the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Elizabeth Headon will join the high-level taskforce on Covid-19 vaccination chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith, as head of vaccine communications.

Her appointment comes following criticism of the pace of vaccine rollout in its early stages since late December.