Coronavirus Ireland: 18 further deaths and 358 more cases confirmed

There have been 18 further deaths and 358 more Covid-19 cases , the Department of Health confirmed today.

This brings the total number of cases in the country to 241,684 and the total number of coronavirus related deaths to 4,803.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) confirmed yesterday that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is being limited to people over 60 years.

It said the decision was taken in light of the outcome of the recent investigation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The decision will come as a major blow to the Government's vaccine rollout, as AstraZeneca was to make up around a fifth of doses with a target of having 80pc of the population vaccinated by June.

In a further move it said people under 60 without a very high risk or high-risk medical condition who have already had a first dose should have the scheduled interval between doses extended from 12 to to 16 weeks to allow further assessment of the benefits and risks as more evidence becomes available.

The EMA has added unusual clotting events with low platelet counts as very rare side effects to the vaccine product information.

These rare events are estimated to occur between four and 10 in every one million people, one of whom may die.

Today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are calling for an immediate pause of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine after six recipients developed a rare disorder post-vaccination.

The rare disorder, which involved blood clots, developed within two weeks of vaccination. All six of the recipients were women, between the ages of 18 and 48, according to the New York Times.

The FDA described the recommended pause as a decision “out of an abundance of caution” and said the cases were “extremely rare”.

Online Editors