Ireland is speeding up its Covid booster rollout with people aged in their 40s able to get the jab from Sunday.
Booster vaccines for people aged between 40 and 49 were due to begin on December 27 - but that’s been brought forward to December 19 amid growing concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Anyone in that age cohort will be able to get jabs in vaccination centres, GPs and pharmacies.
HSE boss Paul Reid confirmed the news on Twitter on Saturday morning.
He said: “We're bringing forward the 40 - 49 ages for booster vaccines to now commence from tomorrow (Sunday 19th Dec).
“Please take the earliest opportunity to do so via Vaccination Centres (incl walk-ins), GPs (they will contact you) or contact your Pharmacy.”
More than 160,000 booster jabs have been administered in the past three days, according to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
It comes after the Government announced new Covid-19 restrictions in a bid to curb the spread of the Omicron variant over Christmas.
In an address to the nation on Friday night, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said it was not the news he wanted to share.
From midnight on Sunday, all restaurants and bars must close at 8pm.
There should be no indoor events after 8pm and for indoor events scheduled earlier in the day, attendance should be limited to 50% of venue capacity or 1,000 people, whichever is lower.
Attendance at all outdoor events should be limited to 50% of venue capacity or 5,000 people whichever is lower.
Wedding receptions can take place after 8pm but with a capacity limit of 100 guests.
The Taoiseach also gave an update on restricted movement advice for all close contacts of confirmed cases.
For those who have received a booster one week ago, they will have to restrict movement for five days and take three antigen tests. For people who have not received a booster, they will have to restrict their movement for 10 days.
All people arriving into the country from overseas will be required to have an antigen or PCR test in line with the vaccination or recovery status.
All passengers arriving into Ireland should not be advised to conduct antigen testing on a daily basis for a period of five consecutive days commencing one the day of arrival.
