Leo Varadkar has pledged that every adult in the country could have a jab by “early July”.
The Tanaiste yesterday confirmed plans to open a portal next month allowing people to register for their vaccination before the end of June.
It is then expected they will get their first jab – which offers substantial protection on its own – early the following month.
Mr Varadkar told the Dail: “They might not have it by the end of June, but they will certainly have their appointment for it in early July.”
And adding to the air of optimism, HSE chief Paul Reid told a briefing the health service will be ready to hit the Government’s latest promise of 400,000 jabs a week.
This is the target for the vaccine programme, but starting next week, capacity at mass vaccination centres will be ramped-up to 30,000 a day.
Mr Reid also said there are up
to 1,000 pharmacies that have registered interest to join the programme and they are on standby.
He is famously a Leeds United fan and he used a football analogy to make his point yesterday, saying the vaccines are like a team’s strikers,
who are now “lashing and banging
in the goals”.
And Mr Reid paid tribute to the public too, who he compared to sturdy defenders against the virus.
He said that every age group will know when they are getting their inoculation when the HSE presents its 28th version of the rollout plan next week.
Mr Varadkar’s massive shot in the arm to the nation came in reply to a question from Labour leader Alan Kelly in the Dail yesterday.
The Tanaiste said: “The Government target hasn’t changed and the Government target is that 82% of adults will have at least one dose, be fully vaccinated or have been offered the vaccine by the end of June.
“But what I was speaking about yesterday [at a private Fine Gael Parliamentary Party meeting] was the possibility of us opening the portal to all adults before the end of June so everybody will be able to book their appointment.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Donnelly has said everyone in Ireland who wants it will be fully vaccinated by September.
The Health Minister told Pat Kenny on Newstalk yesterday morning: “It’s certainly a very ambitious statement, I hope it’s one we can deliver on.
“Certainly at the moment we are on track, if the deliveries continue to arrive, we are on track for about four in every five adults who want a vaccine to be offered one.
“The latest analysis we have is that anyone who wants a vaccine can be fully
vaccinated by September, which is a very, very positive development.”
