A 79-YEAR-OLD Dublin woman will make history as the first person in Ireland to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
The woman, named in the press as Annie, will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at St James's Hospital later today.
A grandmother of 10 from The Liberties area of Dublin, Annie is said to be “delighted” about receiving the jab.
According to Professor Brian MacCraith, the Chair of the Covid Vaccine Task Force, she feels “very privileged” to be the first person to receive the vaccine in Ireland.
An ICU nurse, a Covid ware nurse, a junior doctor and an allied health professional are also all among those due to receive the vaccine today.
It comes as Ireland begins rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Four hospitals across the country are due to begin administering vaccinations beginning at approximately 1:30pm at St James’s Hospital.
Exactly 10,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine arrived in Ireland on St Stephen's Day.
They spent the past three days in storage.
These initial doses will be administered across four acute hospitals: Beaumont and St James's hospitals in Dublin, Cork University Hospital, and University Hospital Galway.
500 doses of the vaccine will be administered at Beamount Hospital over the next few days.
According to the Government and the Health Service Executive the vaccination programme will begin in hospitals before being rolled out across more than 580 care homes across Ireland from Monday, January 4.
By beginning in hospitals, the authorities are hoping to build confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccine before moving on to nursing home settings.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Prof MacCraith said it is "very possible we will complete all vaccinations of nursing homes by February" with anyone else who wants the vaccine in Ireland likely to receive it by August at the latest in a best-case scenario.
"It'll be down to the manufacturing success of the companies, the delivery schedules ... But certainly if all things come to pass, one would be looking at that [August]."
Further supplies of the vaccine are due to arrive in Ireland today, bringing the total from 10,000 to over 40,000.
Over the course of January and February, Ireland is expected to receive roughly 40,000 doses of the vaccine per week
