Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that almost half (49.9%) of the adult population in ireland have now received a booster or third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
In a tweet, Mr Martin said that means 37.4% of the total population of the country has now had a booster jab.
Mr Martin went on to praise healthcare staff involved in the vaccination roll-out.
Update on our vaccine rollout.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) December 23, 2021
Almost half (49.9%) of the adult population have now received a booster or third dose.
That's 37.4% of the total population.
Great work by staff and volunteers in our vaccine centres, GPs and pharmacists.
Meanwhile, Health Service Executive CEO Paul Reid has said there has been an acceleration of Covid-19 cases and positivity rates over the last 48 to 72 hours and it would appear that as Ireland exits a Delta wave, it is entering an Omicron wave.
In a worst-case scenario, he said, the country could be facing a potential 20,000 cases a day.
However, this trajectory could be changed if people follow public health advice and the booster campaign continues at pace and optimistic modelling estimates case numbers at around 8,000 a day, he added.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Reid said early evidence seems to indicate that Omicron is a less dangerous variant, but it is highly transmissible - over five-and-a-half times more transmissible than Delta.
He also warned that it is early days and the concern is the volume of case loads resulting from the variant and the strain this could put on the health system.
It is early days, but the results of studies into the risk of hospitalisation from the Omicron variant are positive, HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 23, 2021
However he said there are 'qualifiers' around the higher transmissibility rate | Read more: https://t.co/9sXmpgQpG3 pic.twitter.com/6brVa77iha
Mr Reid said that in the same week last year, 87,000 PCR tests were being carried out, while 220,000 PCR tests are being carried out now, along with hundreds of thousands of antigen tests.
He said that significant extra resources are being put in place in hospitals, the health care system, testing centres and the vaccination drive.
There has been 'an acceleration' of positivity level in Covid test results in recent days, HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 23, 2021
He said the positivity rate is 21% and is 'probably most likely to rise in the coming days' | Read more on Covid-19: https://t.co/9sXmpgQpG3 pic.twitter.com/88Q3nyCe8F
Within the hospital system, ICU capacity is being increased to around 350 beds.
Mr Reid said that 54% of patients in ICU are unvaccinated, even though just 6% of the population has not received the jab.
He said that people are still coming forward for their first and second doses and work is continuing with vulnerable groups.
There are between 17,000 and 20,000 people coming forward for their first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccines every week, HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said.
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 23, 2021
He said 54% of patients in ICU today have no vaccination at all | Read more on Covid-19: https://t.co/9sXmpgQpG3 pic.twitter.com/TS9unT2AlV
Mr Reid added that more than 303,000 vaccines have been administered over the last three days and urged people to continue to come forward.
There has been a further reduction in the number of patients in intensive care units with Covid-19, which has fallen for the fourth day in a row.
As of 11.30am, there were 98 people being treated in ICU, down two on the same time yesterday morning.
As of 8am there were 390 people with Covid-19 in hospitals, down 39 on the same time yesterday. It is the lowest figure since 10 October.
Today, the Department of Health confirmed 7,411 new cases of Covid-19.
There has been a total of 5,890 coronavirus-related deaths notified in Ireland. This includes 55 deaths newly notified in the past week.
Omicron cases could still put 'severe' pressure on healthcare system
The HSE Chief Clinical Officer has warned that even though it would appear that people who contract Omicron are less likely to need hospitalisation, the huge number of anticipated cases could still result in severe pressure on the healthcare system.
Two studies have indicated that people with Omicron are less likely to need hospital care.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Philip Boucher-Hayes, Dr Colm Henry said data is being carefully scrutinsed but it is evolving.
He said that Omicron is more transmissible than Delta and a lag in the number of cases and information means that it is not known how people who contract the omicron will react or how many will need hospitalisation or ICU care.
He said: "Even a smaller proportion of a big number can still be a big number coming into a hospital system that is under pressure."
Dr Henry said that healthcare workers are already exempt from some self-isolation measures and those workers who do not have symptoms but are close contacts have a derogation to continue to work under supervision.
The single most important message for everyone, regardless of where they work is to stay at home if you have symptoms, he said.
Dr Henry said that there is reassuring evidence that the booster shots do help reduce the incidence of disease and there has been a "big shift to the left" in case numbers in older cohorts who have received it.
He said it remains to be seen if a fourth dose is necessary but signs are that Covid-19 will eventually become endemic.
Dr Henry has said the positivity rate for Covid-19 is now reaching up to 24%.
Portal for vaccinations for some children due to open 28 December
Dr Henry said the portal for parents to register children with underlying conditions or those who live with vulnerable family members will open on 28 December.
He said work has already begun in hospitals to reach families. He said an information campaign is under way to encourage all other parents to give the vaccine to their children.
Serious illness is rare in children, he said, although there are still some unknowns such as the effects of long Covid.
When asked about PCR testing, Dr Henry said that capacity in the system is being increased and demand is currently being absorbed.
However, he added that "there is a limit to this" and no system in the world could expect to be configured against such a rapid surge in cases.
