HSE chief Paul Reid has suggested that an end to the pandemic may be in sight following news that Ireland's vaccine rollout is a month ahead of schedule.
The programme has been going from strength to strength over the past couple of months, and has even progressed past that of the UK's.
Ireland now has a higher proportion of its adult population fully vaccinated against Covid-19 than Britain does.
As such, Mr Reid suggested the country will begin scaling back the vaccine drive, and possibly closing vaccination centres over the coming weeks, as plans to administer booster jabs are drawn up.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, he insisted the HSE was "absolutely" ahead of its vaccination targets for August, and suggested that the programme could finish as early as next month.
"Earlier we were looking at September into October and now we’re looking at August and probably with some of the kids to be done with their second vaccine in September.
"We’re at least four weeks ahead of where we thought we would have been."
This week, the HSE announced its intention to begin administering vaccines to children as young as 13.
As part of Ireland's continued fight against the coronavirus pandemic, children across the nation will be eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine after the National Immunisation Advisory Committee updated its advice to recommend that children receive the jab.
Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry confirmed to RTÉ News on Monday that the rollout of vaccines for children over 12 will begin in the coming weeks following the implementation of changes to the vaccine portal to allow parents to give consent for their child to register for the jab.
Dr Henry told the outlet that the HSE is currently preparing the consent forms "that parents will need to consider and make the right decision for their child".
