Ireland has now administered half a million injections with the corona virus.
The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, praised Ireland’s progress in the pandemic and tweeted Saturday afternoon that he had been informed by the Health Service Executive that the country had passed the half-million mark.
Earlier in posted a video on Twitter, Martin said he was inspired by recent visits to vaccination centers where thousands of primary care health workers received the vaccination.
He said the government and the HSE were doing everything they could to secure supplies and give people vaccines as soon as possible.
The first coronavirus vaccine in Ireland was given to a Dublin woman, Annie Lynch, on December 29.
“Next week, we will begin vaccinating people with underlying health problems, as well as vaccinating people over 70 and health professionals,” Martin said.
The Taoiseach said the vaccines reduce the impact of the virus, adding, “This can be seen in the reduced infection rate in our nursing homes and among our primary care health workers.
“This gives hope, along with the continued decline in the number of Covids, thanks to the sacrifices you have made.
“The incidence in 14 days [of confirmed cases per 100,000 population] fell below 200 this week for the first time since Christmas. While our health services are still under pressure, the number of patients in our hospitals and ICUs is declining significantly. “
However, he added a caveat, warning that variants of the virus mean people shouldn’t relax in adhering to restrictions.
On Saturday, the number of patients in intensive care in Ireland with Covid-19 dropped to 101, with the number of hospitalized cases at 414.
Paul Reid, HSE’s chief executive, described it as a “great sign”.
On Friday, nine more deaths from the virus and 522 new cases were recorded in Ireland.
Graph of Covid cases in Ireland
A peaceful demonstration against lockdown restrictions took place in Cork on Saturday.
A similar event last week in Dublin ended in violent scenes, with 23 people arrested and three gardaí injured.
There was a heavy police presence in Cork and some shops closed their windows as an estimated crowd of several hundred gathered on St Patrick’s Street.
Pleas had been made for the event to be called off, including by the town’s mayor, Joe Kavanagh, and minister Simon Coveney.
The organizers of the demonstration, the People’s Convention, said it would be a “peaceful gathering”.