COVID-19: 304 New Cases As Vaccine's "Are Winning"

304 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Ireland today.

47 coronavirus patients are in hospital, with 13 in intensive care.

210 cases of the Delta variant have been identified in Ireland so far.

38% of the adult population is now fully vaccinated against covid-19.

3.8 million vaccines have now been administered with one dose given to two-thirds of adults.

For the past two days, 54 thousand vaccines have been administered.

HSE CEO Paul Reid says vaccines are winning, but the fight against covid-19 is not over yet.

Part of the consignment of over 317,000 Pfizer vaccines that we received today. As always, these will be administered over the course of the next week. We won't let up in the race to protect people all across the country against this virus. @HSELive pic.twitter.com/SsYbpcaXNf

— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) June 23, 2021

This comes as the HSE appealed to people to turn up for their second vaccine doses.

Vaccine centres are reporting a 6 per cent "do not attend" rate overall, while GPs are expressing concerns over some people not getting their second Astra Zeneca dose, in the hope of being offered a different vaccine.

HSE Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Colm Henry says that's the wrong approach to take:

"Don't bet on waiting, as the best bet you can make is take that second vaccine, because especially in light of this expected surge in Delta [Variant] cases. You are better off fully protected with a full dose schedule of the vaccine you've been offered and the vaccine you started with."

While The Tánaiste says "nothing has been decided" on the re-opening plan for next month.

Leo Varadkar told his parliamentary party yesterday, NPHET's advice next week will be crucial when it comes to what happens next.

Pubs and restaurants are set to reopen for indoor service from July 5th, but fresh doubt's been cast on the plan due to the Delta variant.

Today’s data show a concerning increase in transmission of the Delta variant in Ireland.

We estimate that Delta accounts for up to 20% of cases reported in the last week.

We have also seen a number of outbreaks associated with this variant reported in the last week.

— Dr Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) June 21, 2021