Public health officials have urged anyone eligible to register for a Covid-19 vaccine to do so, as the vaccine portal opens to people aged 16 and 17 years old from today.
The expansion of the vaccination programme comes as 87% new covid cases reported yesterday were in people aged 45 and under.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said cases of Covid-19 are high across many counties and there has been a significant rise in hospitalisations in the last fortnight.
The Department of Health reported 1,345 new cases and, as of yesterday morning, there were 141 people being treated for the virus in hospital, with 25 of these patients in intensive care units.