28,000 people receive H1N1 vaccine

Close to 8,000 people received the swine flu vaccine today at clinics around the country, according to new figures from the Health…

Close to 8,000 people received the swine flu vaccine today at clinics around the country, according to new figures from the Health Service Executive (HSE).

A total of 7,790 individuals were vaccinated against the H1N1 virus during the day, bringing the total number of people in at-risk groups to have received the vaccination to 28,251 since the vaccination campaign began last Monday.

In Dublin, 2,171 individuals received the vaccine in the HSE's seven Dublin clinics. A further 1,780 people were vaccinated at eight HSE clinics in Mid-Leinster.

In the South, 1,909 people were vaccinated as were 1,920 in the West.

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The vaccine is considered the best defence we have against the H1N1 virus. At present, only people in at-risk groups can receive the vaccine.

Earlier this week, Department of Health officials confirmed that four more people had died of human swine flu in the Republic, bringing the numbers to die of the virus to 14.

Some 30,000 people contracted the virus in the Republic last week alone and the Department of Health estimates that it could take six to eight months to vaccinate the entire population, as supplies of vaccines are limited.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist