Ireland considering COVID-19 booster shots as early as fall: reports

Ireland’s government is considering offering a third coronavirus vaccine shot to health care workers, elderly residents and those in nursing homes as early as autumn or winter, The Irish Examiner reported.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC), which provides advice to Ireland’s chief medical officer before vaccination policies are issued, reportedly proposed that booster shots could be given out later this year for those people who are front-line health care workers, are over the age of 80 years old, live in a nursing home or have underlying conditions, The Irish Times reported.

The government is also planning on buying 650 vaccines from the French drugmaker Valneva for 10 million euros, with other vaccines possibly being supplemented by the U.S.’s Novavax, according The Sunday Times. 

Additionally, Ireland’s government will allow children between the ages of 12 and 15 years old to start getting vaccinated as early as next week, according to the Irish Times.

“I encourage parents and guardians of those aged 12-15 years of age to register them for a vaccination as soon as the opportunity arises,” Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said in a statement. 

“The vaccination program has received high uptake to date. I strongly urge anyone eligible to register for a vaccine to do so as soon as possible,” he noted.

According to data from John Hopkins University, 54 percent of Ireland’s population is fully vaccinated. Data from the World Health Organization show that confirmed COVID-19 cases started to rise in mid-July and have steadily stayed over 1,000 a day. Earlier in the month, confirmed cases had been in the hundreds.