THE ONLINE BOOKING system for Covid-19 vaccines will open from Wednesday for the 40-44 age cohort, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has confirmed. 

“Delighted to be able to share that the online registration for a Covid-19 vaccine for those aged 40-44 will commence this Wednesday, June 02 – starting with those aged 44 that day and those aged 43 on Thursday and so on,” Donnelly said on Twitter this afternoon.

People in this age cohort who register to receive a vaccine should expect to start to be scheduled for appointments in the middle of June, HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said on Monday. 

People registering for their vaccine on the HSE website will need: 

• Their PPS number
• Their Eircode
• A mobile phone number
• An email address

People who don’t have all of these, or who would prefer not to register online, can call HSELive on 1850 241 850 for assistance with the registration process. 

The new target set by the government is to fully vaccinate 2.5 million people by the end of July.

🚨🚨 Delighted to be able to share that the online registration for a COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 40-44 will commence this Wednesday, June 02 - starting with those aged 44 that day and those aged 43 on Thursday and so on. pic.twitter.com/sZ6cmGjZkX

— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) May 31, 2021

Currently, around 50% of adults – 1.9 million – have received a first dose, including 20% who have been fully vaccinated.

The government has also been aiming to bring at least one dose to 80% of the eligible population by 30 June, but recent analysis of data by The Journal indicates this milestone is more likely to be reached in the first or second week of July.

Four vaccines against Covid-19 have been approved for use in Ireland: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.