Dr Tony Holohan has issued an urgent plea to the public to get themselves vaccinated if the opportunity arises - as over 3,000 Covid-19 cases were confirmed by officials for the seventh straight day.
As of 8am on Monday morning, 498 people were in hospital, 78 of whom were getting treatment in the Intensive Care Unit.
And in the aftermath of the cases being announced, Dr Holohan specifically spoke on vaccines.
Dr Holohan said: ’Today we are reporting 3,161 cases of COVID-19, 498 hospitalisations, with 78 patients in ICU. We know that vaccination provides our strongest defence against severe illness and hospitalisation. I encourage anyone who has yet to be vaccinated to come forward for vaccination. It is not too late to become part of our vaccinated pool of people and your participation in the COVID-19 vaccine programme will be welcomed.
‘’We are now also boosting and offering a third vaccine dose to healthcare workers and people over the age of 60. We are beginning to see encouraging signs, in the decreasing levels of infection among those age groups that have received their booster dose. The importance of coming forward cannot be overstated. If it is time for your booster, please come forward to receive that booster."
In addition to those who are unvaccinated against Covid-19, he also focused on the flue season.
‘’Finally, I would also like to note that the flu (influenza) vaccine programme is currently open and I encourage people of all ages to avail of it.
"Children are twice as likely to get the flu than adults. Children are also more likely than adults to get severe complications of flu. The flu vaccine will help protect your child against flu and reduce the spread of flu to others such as siblings, parents and grandparents. Children and young people aged 2 to 17 can get the nasal flu vaccine for free.
‘’Please continue to practice basic public health interventions to limit the spread of disease this winter - washing our hands, opening windows, wearing masks and most importantly, staying home when we have symptoms. These simple measures are very successful at breaking the chains of transmission of disease.’’
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