MORE than 6,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered last week at Letterkenny IT’s mass vaccination centre – marking its busiest seven days since opening.
The exact number of vaccines administered weekly in Donegal fluctuates depending on supply but it has peaked at between 4,500 and 6,000 doses per week in recent weeks, according to the HSE.
Earlier this month, the vaccination centre at LYIT surpassed the 40,000 milestone of doses administered to people from Donegal.
And while statistics are scarce due to the cyberattack last month on the HSE, Frank Harburn, General Manager, Regional Vaccination Programme, said the roll-out in Donegal is broadly on schedule.
“It’s going very, very well. We are moving at pace and we are moving in line with the national programme,” he said.
“We’re experiencing very good levels of supply in the country in recent weeks and that is reflected in the numbers we are doing in Letterkenny.
“We have now passed the 40,000 mark which is really good and we’ve been managing to do more than 6,000 a week since supplies were ramped up in recent weeks,” Mr Harburn said.
Some Donegal people living in the south of the county are getting their vaccines through the Sligo centre.
“The national system is based on eircodes and with thirty-eight centres across the country not all centres are working off strict county boundaries,” he said.
The General Manager of the Regional Vaccination Programme paid tribute to his staff working in LYIT.
“Many of these people came out of retirement to work in the centre which is delivering a very positive programme.
“It’s great to see people coming out with that piece of paper in their hand after they have been fully vaccinated. It’s about people getting out and about and getting the country back on its feet again and that’s really shown in the positivity and professionalism of the staff,” he said.
It is believed most mass vaccination centres will begin to close in the autumn, and the rollout will move to pharmacies and GPs.
The news comes as people aged 35 will be able to register today for vaccination, with those aged 34 from tomorrow, 33 from Saturday, 32 from Sunday, and those aged 31 from Monday, June 27th.