IRELAND NOW has the highest daily vaccine rate in all of the European Union.
The country is leading the way for the most doses administered per 100 people at 0.19, according to the latest figures from Our World Data.
Spain is second with 0.15 while Slovenia sits third with 0.13 per 100 people inoculated.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly took to Twitter to confirm the astonishing statistic, which comes during a week in which Ireland’s Covid-19 infection rate surpassed that of both Europe and the US.
Though Donnelly acknowledged that the rates will not always remain this high, he was keen to share the data in order to demonstrate the progress being made with vaccinations in Ireland.
"Thanks to our brilliant vaccination teams, for now we have the highest daily vaccination levels in the EU27." he wrote.
"It won't always be like this, as member states get same per capita amounts of vaccine. But great we're moving quickly."
Thanks to our brilliant vaccination teams, for now we have the higest daily vaccination levels in the EU27. It won't always be like this, as member states get same per capita amounts of vaccine. But great we're moving quickly. 🙏👏👍 pic.twitter.com/DFR7amwlvi
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) January 15, 2021
The Health Service Executive, meanwhile, has confirmed that from Monday, January 18, people will be required to wait 28 days to receive a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
This represents a seven day increase on the previous schedule.
It comes on the advice of the World Health Organisation alongside the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.
The HSE said said that "information about the vaccine and the programme is evolving, the WHO and NIAC recently provided updated advice, stating that the interval between the two doses has been increased from 21 days to 21-28 days."
They added that "this new change will not have an impact on the protection it offers", and will instead "enable us to maximise our resources and vaccinate more people as new supplies of the vaccine come into the country".
These developments come despite recent anger among frontline hospital workers who have yet to be informed of when they will be inoculated against the virus.
This week it emerged that workers in several private hospitals had already received the vaccine while public health workers remain unvaccinated despite dealing with Covid patients since March last year.
