One of the country’s major maternity hospitals is having to find a new Covid vaccination site for pregnant women after Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital decided to stop providing jabs.

The HSE is urging pregnant women to get a first dose at or after 14 weeks of pregnancy, with a second jab before the end of 36 weeks because of the risks of Covid-19 during pregnancy.

But pregnant women attending the Rotunda Hospital, also in Dublin, can no longer go to Beaumont for a first jab.

Beaumont is winding down its vaccination programme, including for pregnant women.

“Any patient that has received their first dose will be facilitated in Beaumont for their second vaccination to complete their vaccination programme,” a Rotunda spokesperson said.

“The hospital is in the process of developing a new referral pathway for pregnant patients through HSE Community Healthcare which will facilitate vaccinations for pregnant women in vaccination centres in the catchment area: Croke Park and Swords.

“The hospital is totally supportive of pregnant women receiving vaccinations and continue to provide additional support and advise to pregnant patients on vaccinations at appointments, through our website and social media platforms.

“The hospital would also like to remind patients in the relevant age cohort that they should also register through the HSE vaccination portal for their vaccination, as this may be more convenient to their actual location.”

It comes as 62 Covid-19 patients were in hospital yesterday, with 17 in intensive care, compared to 64 in hospital and 16 in intensive care on Monday.

The vaccination roll-out is expected to slow this week. Although around 280,000 will get a jab it will be lower than the recent peak of 347,000 due to a shortage of supplies.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said everyone aged 16 and over will be offered a jab by the end of September.

There were 589 new cases of the virus reported yesterday, but the more infectious Delta variant now accounts for 80pc of cases – up from 70pc – which means it is almost totally dominant.

Of the 124 intensive care patients between March 24 and June 23, only one had got a second dose more than 14 days before diagnosis but 18 received one jab.

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said the Delta variant was a challenge fac-
ing all of Europe, but basic public health measures would still work.

These are: avoid crowds, wear a mask, manage your contacts, keep a distance, meet outdoors if possible and if indoors ensure the room is well ventilated.

He also urged positive cases to work with contact tracers to identify all close contacts so they, their families and colleagues can be protected.