Number of Covid boosters and third doses passes 1m milestone

The number of Covid vaccine booster and third doses administered in Northern Ireland has passed the one million mark, the Department of Health has said.

The milestone was welcomed by Patricia Donnelly, head of Northern Ireland’s vaccination programme.

She said: “GPs, community pharmacists and trusts have all worked extremely hard to roll out the booster campaign, with the period in the run-up to Christmas particularly busy.

“They all deserve our heartfelt thanks. Because of the vaccines, we now have much greater protection against the virus.

“All those involved in the vaccination programme are genuine history makers.”

Booster doses have been provided from the latter stages of last year, supplementing the two primary doses already received.

A third primary dose was offered to people with a severely weakened immune system, which was followed by a booster three months after their third primary dose.

The latest tallies on Northern Ireland’s vaccination dashboard include 979,548 boosters and 20,620 third doses.

Ms Donnelly continued: “While demand for vaccines is no longer at levels from the peak of the campaign, people are still coming forward on a daily basis for boosters and first and second doses.

“It’s still not too late to get these jabs. Please do so, and benefit from the really important protection they bring.”

There have been five further deaths of patients who previously tested positive for Covid in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said.

Another 1,204 confirmed cases of the virus have been notified in the last 24-hour reporting period.

On Monday morning there were 481 Covid-19 patients in hospital, with four in intensive care.