People under the age of 30 may get vaccinated earlier in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus ahead of the wider reopening of society, under proposals currently being examined by the Department of Health. Some senior officials fear a spike in cases among younger people once society begins to reopen, as under-30s are more likely than other age groups to socialise together in large numbers. The Department of Health is currently carrying out an impact analysis of widening the interval beyond the current four weeks. A further 11 deaths of Covid-19 patients were reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team on Friday. A further 420 confirmed cases of the disease were also reported, bringing to 242,819 the total number of cases in the Republic.

Source: The Irish Times April 17, 2021 00:44 UTC