The HSE has confirmed that the booster rollout will be kicking off next week, and have reassured the public that Ireland has a healthy supply of doses available.
From Monday, booster shots will also be offered to everyone over 80, and to those over 65 in residential settings.
The additional dose will be offered to immunocompromised individuals in Ireland over 16, as the HSE lead for infection control Professor Martin Cormican said there will be a slight delay among the 12-15 cohort.
He explained to RTE’s Morning Ireland that “there will be a little delay for those between the ages 12 and 15,” because they received their first dose much later than anyone else, and so they must wait a minimum of eight weeks for their additional jab.
"That is where you get the most benefit if you allow the interval of two months to go by,” he said.
The HSE will be contacting people directly for their booster dose, and so people waiting for their turn don’t need to take any action.
Officials have predicted that it will take around five to six weeks to administer all third doses to those who need one.
The benefits of this booster shot have been proven extremely effective among those who already received it according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
It states that the level of infection and the number of severe cases were "substantially lower" in those who received a booster dose.
Meanwhile, Professor Luke O'Neill said; "These people's immune systems have been upgraded, and the antibodies they're getting will fight any variant they think.
"There's a massive range of antibodies now in their bodies because the boost is so powerful.”
