The Director General of the HSE Paul Reid received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the vaccination centre at IT Sligo today.
Speaking afterward, he said the overall vaccination programme is a massive showcase of the value of the health services.
Half a million people have now received a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in Ireland.
Figures for Sunday show there were 21,000 jabs administered on that day – the highest for a Sunday since the vaccination programme began.
In total there’s been more than 1.8 million vaccines given out so far.
Advice on the usage of the AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccines are expected to be given to Government by the end of the week.
Currently, both vaccines are limited to the over 50s, but there is potential for these rules to be relaxed.
Liam Fanning, Professor of Immunovirology at UCC, says the vaccines should be used on younger people:
