An elderly Dublin woman and grandmother-of-ten will become the FIRST person in the Republic of Ireland to be administered with the Covid-19 vaccine.
Christchurch born, Liberties lady Annie - whose surname has not been provided - will be the first member of the public to receive the vaccine at St. James's Hospital.
An ICU nurse working on a Covid ward will receive the vaccine first but 79-year-old Annie will then receive the jab thereafter.
Sadly, Annie's husband passed away earlier this year but one of her ten grandchildren is a health care worker in St. James's and will be with her for the unprecedented moment.
Beaumont Hospital and St. James's in Dublin as well as Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Galway will begin vaccinating the Pfizer BioNTech jab in Ireland from today, Tuesday December 29.
Around 10,000 doses of the vaccine arrived on St Stephen's Day with Ireland aiming to jab as many as 20,000 people a week from early January.
According to Chair of the Covid-19 vaccination taskforce Brian MacCraith, St. James's Hospital will receive the first vaccine at 1:30pm.
He said: "The very first person to receive the vaccination in Ireland is a patient called Annie.
"She's 79, she was born in Christchurch and grew up in the Liberties.
"Sadly her husband passed away earlier this year, just four weeks before her admission in October.
"I'm told Annie is delighted to be getting the vaccine and feels very privileged to be the first person in Ireland to receive it."
He added: "It's a great story and it's so important that those who suffered most in the Covid-19 pandemic are prioritised here."
