High uptake of second Covid booster vaccines in Cork 

There has been a high uptake of the second Covid-19 booster vaccination in Cork since its launch for the 18 to 49 age cohort last week.

A spokesperson for Cork Kerry Community Healthcare (CKCH) said the numbers attending North Main Street vaccination centre in Cork City last week “have been the highest for some months”.

There are also high numbers booked in to the clinics scheduled for later this week.

Cork/ Kerry public health area director Dr Anne Sheahan, highlighted the importance of keeping up-to-date with the booster vaccines, saying that the best ammunition against Covid-19 is vaccination.

“We strongly encourage people aged 18 to 49 to avail of the vaccine. 

"It is a very safe vaccine and will offer added protection at a time when we are seeing very high levels of Covid-19 in the community.”

It comes as Cork University Hospital (CUH) recorded the highest number of Covid-19 admissions across the country for the third consecutive day.

The number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 in CUH has continued to increase over the festive season as the rate of infection rises in the community.

As of 8pm on Tuesday, January 3, there were 53 people hospitalised with Covid-19 in CUH, an increase in the numbers hospitalised with the virus in recent weeks.

In total, there are currently 69 people with the virus hospitalised in Cork, of whom 16 are in the Mercy University Hospital (MUH).

On New Year’s Day, there were 76 people hospitalised with the virus in Cork, 59 at CUH and 17 at MUH.

According to the latest HSE Covid-19 daily operations update for acute hospitals, there is one patient with Covid-19 in ICU at CUH and two Covid-19 patients in the ICU at MUH.

Nationally, there are 26 people with the virus in ICU. The number of Covid-confirmed patients who are invasively ventilated is 14.

According to the latest data available on the Covid-19 data hub which was last updated on January 3, there were 771 confirmed Covid-19 cases (PCR) in Cork in the 14 days up to midnight on January 2, a significant jump in Covid cases since data was released on December 20, when there were 429 confirmed Covid-19 cases (PCR) in Cork in the 14 days up to midnight on December 19.

The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population up to midnight on January 2 was 142, almost double what it was on December 19 when an incidence rate of 79 was recorded.

Anyone aged 18 to 49 can make an appointment for their second Covid-19 booster dose through the HSE website. Appointments for this week are still available to book online. Appointments for next week will become available later this week at www.hse.ie.