NEED TO CATCH up? TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Closed shops on Grafton Street, Dublin, today. Sam Boal Sam Boal

• Three mass vaccination centres for GPs will be operational this weekend.
• Ireland may have to re-examine its vaccine rollout after Pfizer announced it will reduce vaccine deliveries as it ramps up production.
• 3,498 new cases of Covid-19 and 50 additional deaths were announced by public health officials.
• The Taoiseach said the virus will dictate whether or not he goes to Washington DC for St Patrick’s Day. 
• The Tánaiste said designating the Beacon Hospital as vaccination centre was “at odds” with its refusal to sign a surge capacity deal.
• The Attorney General told the Taoiseach that a referendum was not needed to grant adopted people access to their birth certs.
• The Church of Ireland apologised for the role it played in “shaping a society” in which unmarried women and their children were stigmatised.
• The government reaffirmed its plans for a code of practice on the right to disconnect from work.
• It emerged that special advisers to Government ministers’ earn over €4.5 million in salaries.
• The gardaí appealed for people to “stay at home” this weekend. Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer and his counterpart in Northern Ireland made a similar plea.

WORLD

Lorries queue for a customs facility in Kent, UK, as Channel traffic builds up following a quiet start to the year and the end of the Brexit transition period. PA PA

#COVID-19: The World Health Organisation blamed human behaviour for some recent rises in Covid-19 infection counts and said the impact of new variants of the virus in places like Britain, South Africa and Brazil remains to be seen.

#DEATH TOLL: Two million people have now died worldwide with coronavirus.

#UK: Boris Johnson scrapped the UK’s travel corridors, meaning arrivals from every country must self-isolate for at least five days.

#CAPITOL RIOTS: US prosecutors now believe supporters of President Donald Trump planned to “capture and assassinate elected officials”.

#NETHERLANDS: Prime minister Mark Rutte’s government resigned today over a child benefits scandal.

PARTING SHOT

Comedian Michael Fry has released the latest installment in his immensely enjoyable series of Indie band interpretations of iconic Irish viral moments.

This time it’s Tony McGregor’s experience on the DART that gets (ahem) fried up.

This reporter has visions of fields of revellers slowly swaying to this as the light fades on another glorious day at a (normal once again) Irish music festival.

Sing it with me: “Slim fit, hand fitted, Hugo Boss suit. I wear a slim fit, hand fitted, Hugo Boss suit. And I have have no room to put these coins anywhere.

I have no room to put these coins anywhere.

Click here to watch the video. 

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