Health chiefs in Ireland are in a “real race” to vaccinate the population against Covid-19 amid the threat of an increasing number of cases of the Delta variant of the virus, the country’s Health Service Executive (HSE) has said.
The warning comes as Ireland’s 14-day Covid-19 incidence rate is now 121 cases per 100,000 people – a 20% rise on last week. The increase has been fuelled by the more transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India, which now accounts for 70% of Ireland’s cases and is the dominant strain.
HSE Director-General Paul Reid said on Thursday it was “likely” that cases will continue to rise in the immediate future and that officials were looking at a number of scenarios to address the increase.
The increased cases are not “as yet” translating into hospital admissions, but the situation remains unclear and the government will continue monitoring the data, Reid said.
The HSE is in a “real race to get the vaccine out ahead of the spread of the Delta variant,” he told a news briefing.
“Our most likely scenario is that the spread of Delta will outmatch our supply of vaccines over the coming weeks,” he added.
Ireland has fully vaccinated 53% of its adult population against Covid-19, while more than 68% of all adults have received a single dose.
The latest government figures show that 58 people are currently hospitalised with the virus – a decrease of two compared to Wednesday. A total of 17 Covid-19 patients are in intensive care.
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