Mary has received an update from the Minister of Health on the Vaccine Rollout.

• The total cumulative number of vaccines administered up to January 27th is 161,500 vaccines.
• Of those, 71,600 vaccines were administered to people in long-term residential care facilities and a further 89,900 were given to healthcare workers, some of whom (76,100) have received a first vaccine while others (13,800) have had their second dose.
• The vaccination of the third group in the Government’s Vaccine Allocation Strategy will begin in February.
• Under the Vaccine Allocation Strategy, people aged 70 and older will be vaccinated in the following order: 85 and older, 80-84, 75-79, 70-74.
• The community vaccination programme will begin in February, subject to regulatory approval of AstraZeneca.
• For the moment, people do not need to take any specific action.  The next stage of our vaccine programme will begin with those aged 85 years and older and will be administered initially through GPs in their surgeries. The HSE is preparing a public information campaign that will provide all necessary details in advance and ensure that everyone knows when, where and how to access their vaccine.