HSE CEO Paul Reid tweeted earlier today that 79% of Irish adults have now received at one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while almost two-thirds (65%) of adults are fully vaccinated. Health officials and ministers have stressed that the next few weeks will be crucial as Ireland is in a "race" between vaccinations and the Delta variant to protect as much of the population as possible while case numbers continue to rise. The current surge is bringing with it higher numbers of people in hospital with Covid-19, compared to just a few weeks ago, according to HSE figures. Reports have emerged of people who are Covid-positive being hospitalised, despite being fully vaccinated.