New advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) for the Health Service Executive allows flexibility to reduce the gap between the first and second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to eight weeks, from the current 12 weeks, RTÉ News has confirmed.
NIAC has notified the Chief Medical Officer of its view and Dr Tony Holohan has written to the HSE on the matter.
It is expected the HSE will consider the advice and what it would mean operationally for the roll-out of the vaccine programme.
If the gap is reduced, it would mean some people who have received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and some people due to get a first dose soon, could be fully vaccinated faster.
The gap between the two doses was 16 weeks in some cases, but that was reduced more recently to 12 weeks.
Earlier, Dr Holohan defended his remarks at the weekend when he described socialising he had witnessed in Dublin city as "shocking".
At a National Public Health Emergency Team briefing today, he said the scenes "were something to behold" and likened them to Jones' Road on an All-Ireland weekend.
Dr Holohan said that in his remarks at the weekend, he was not making a moral judgment, but commenting from a public health point of view.
Today, he also said it was hard for people, if they are expected to stay outdoors, and not have facilities, but it was also hard for local authorities to magic these facilities up overnight.
Dr Holohan added that, for the most part, the public have stayed compliant with the public health measures and he said he does not want to put the progress that has been made at risk.
Speaking about the scenes in Dublin at the weekend, @CMOIreland said, "I think if the council had set about organising an outdoor event they couldn't have squeezed more people into that confined arena." pic.twitter.com/VKdwubOAC1
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 2, 2021
Asked if he had "lost the public", the CMO said he did not believe so, and added: "I think in broad terms the public is with us."
He said there will be cases of non-compliance, and while people are frustrated, it still remains that NPHET has to repeat its public health message.
Asked if he thought the reopening was happening too quickly, he said the plan was set an "ambitious pace" and Ireland has not seen a significant uptake in infections so that gives reassurances that we remain on track to be "where we want to be" in July.
New figures show there are 115 cases of the Delta variant of the virus in the country, up from 97 last Friday. The variant was first reported in India.
NPHET said the incidence of the variant appears to be stable but it remains a concern especially if it makes its way into a super spreader event.
Dr Holohan warned the Delta variant remains a black cloud on the horizon.
Latest figures show the Department of Health has been notified of a further 407 new cases of Covid-19.
It also said there are 34 patients in intensive care, the same figure as yesterday. Overall, there are 93 patients in hospital with the virus.
The case figures may change due to future data review, validation and update, the department said.
At today's NPHET briefing, Deputy CMO Dr Ronan Glynn said there had been 11 deaths related to Covid-19 since 14 May but that was likely to be a significant underestimate.
Full figures are not available as the General Register Office (GRO) is part of the Health Service Executive and is affected by the cyber attack.
In Northern Ireland, a further 84 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed this afternoon. No deaths have been reported there in the past 24 hours.
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Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, told today's NPHET briefing that the "general picture" in relation to Covid-19 over recent weeks is one of stability.
He said the average of new cases now stands at 420 per day and, with under 100 people in hospital, this was "good to see".
Prof Nolan said it was "good news" that incidence of the virus in most age groups is stable but there has been a significant increase in infections among young adults aged 19-24 over the last two weeks.
He added the reproduction number is estimated to be between 0.9 and 1.05, and said the five-day average is now below 400 for the first time in "some time".
Dr Glynn said the counties with the highest incidence rate are Limerick, Donegal, Offaly and Dublin.
Dr Ronan Glynn says the counties with the highest incidence rate are Limerick, Donegal, Offaly and Dublin. | Read more: https://t.co/gLdM2fS4Rp pic.twitter.com/tJUpEeIqfl
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 2, 2021
Dr Mai Mannix, director of public health for the HSE Mid-West, told the briefing that incidence has been high in Limerick, with 740 cases between 16 and 31 May.
She said there had been multiple community outbreaks resulting from house parties and household visits, workplaces and some school settings.
Separately, the vaccine registration portal has opened for people aged 40-44, with 44-year-olds eligible to register from today.
The hospitality sector, meanwhile, welcomed the reopening of hotels, B&Bs, self-catering accommodation and hostels today.
Fáilte Ireland has estimated that the reopening of tourism and hospitality over the coming weeks will help inject around €1bn extra into the economy over the next few months.
