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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
David Kent

Ireland vaccine update: Taoiseach says major milestone will be passed today as rollout continues to ramp up

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said that a major milestone in Ireland's vaccination rollout will be hit by this evening.

If all goes to plan, two million doses will have been administered to the people of Ireland, according to the HSE.

As it stands, 1,922,913 doses have been given out in clinics and GP surgeries across the country.

1,408,105 of those are first doses, while 515,358 of them are second jabs.

On Tuesday, 31,522 first doses were administered, along with 8,911 second ones.

What that all means is that 36% of people aged 16+ who are eligible for a jab have been given one, with 13.2% of people fully vaccinated.

People queuing outside the Helix Vaccination centre (DCU) in north Dublin. (Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos Dublin)

Mr Martin tweeted: "Just informed by @HSELive that we are likely to reach the total of 2 million #CovidVaccines given out across Ireland by the end of today. Another important milestone in our rollout – and tribute to the dedication of vaccines teams up and down the country."

Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said that everyone in Ireland who wants a jab will be fully vaccinated by September.

The revised prediction reflects the acceleration of the rollout here after the Minister for Health's claim back in March that every adult would merely have been "offered" a vaccine by the end of summer.

It comes after Leo Varadkar last night said everyone that wants a jab could be offered an appointment by the end of next month.

And Minister Donnelly said today that he "hopes" the Government can deliver on the "very ambitious" aim.

He told Pat Kenny on Newstalk this 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."

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