Governments vaccine promises are up in the air because of new vaccine supply shortages.
Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, has said in the Dáil that massive problems with the supply line means it is unclear if the important Government promise to have 80% of adults with a jab by July can now be met.
This could affect the Governments plans to lift restrictions and reopen pubs in July to be announced by Taoiseach Micheal Martin in a State of the Nation address on Friday evening.
Mr Donnelly said on Thursday morning that there are now serious concerns around the supply of the game-changing Janssen one-shot jab, as he revealed there are now only as few as 60,000 of a scheduled 476,000 doses on the way next month.
He also said there are extra questions around expected deliveries of AstraZeneca jabs, adding that they have been consistently under what theyve promised.
However, Mr Donnelly had some good news to reveal to the Dáil too when he told TDs that half of the adult population will have received a jab by this weekend.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly (Image: Gareth Chaney/Collins)
The Minister also paid a huge tribute to everyone involved in the vaccine programme as Ireland heads towards reaching its goal in the coming few days.
He said: Im delighted to be able to share this with colleagues.
I was speaking to the HSE and with the (vaccine rollout) taskforce and with the Department (of Health) this morning to get the very latest estimates and Im delighted to be able to share that we believe that by the end of this week half the adult population in our country will have received at least one vaccine dose.
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And what a wonderful thing for us to be able to discuss and share this morning.
And I know colleagues will join me in expressing on behalf of the Government, on behalf of the Oireachtas, our enormous thanks to the thousands, and thousands, and thousands of men and women in every county across our country in vaccination centres, in the GP practices, the vaccination teams in nursing homes.
Weve had our therapists, our nurses, our doctors, clinicians from right across the healthcare family.
Weve had students, volunteers, people coming out of retirement.
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Weve had the National Ambulance Service play an extraordinary role, weve had the health service play an extraordinary role and weve had other Government departments, other Government agencies.
This has been a truly, and remains, a truly national effort and isnt it a wonderful, wonderful thing.
The oppositions lead health spokesman, David Cullinane of Sinn F̩in, said: I would like to welcome the fact that half the population will have received a first dose by this weekend Рthats good news.
But on the new supply line problems, he added: Its not good news that were seeing problems on the supply side. Its unacceptable.”
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