One in five new cases is from fully vaccinated

ONE in five new Covid-19 cases is in people who are fully vaccinated – but patients are experiencing only mild symptoms, the HSE has said.

National Lead for Testing and Tracing, Niamh O’Beirne, said the number of fully vaccinated people getting Covid varies on a given day between 18% and 20%.

‘The current range would be anywhere between 18% and 20%. It’s been increasing but then again vaccination levels have been increasing and the level of disease is also increasing. So, it’s not unexpected, but that’s the level of standing at the moment,’ she told Virgin Media News.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said: ‘It’s important to remember that this does not mean vaccines are not effective. While they will not prevent every case, they provide excellent protection against severe disease and significantly reduce the risk of hospitalisation.’

As of Sunday, there have been over 6.1million doses of vaccine administered here. This includes over 3.2million first doses, 2.69million second doses and 222,962 single-shot doses.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said yesterday that almost three in four people in Ireland over the age of 16 are now fully vaccinated, with a further 9,000 vaccines being administered in the walk-in vaccination centres over the weekend.

HSE chief executive Paul Reid said two-thirds of the people who came to the vaccine centres over the weekend hadn’t previously registered for the vaccine.

‘All age groups were represented and on occasions full families attended. We’re on the final leg of the vaccination programme now,’ Mr Reid wrote on Twitter.

This Thursday, the vaccine registration portal will open to 12- to 15-year-olds.