Three mass Covid-19 vaccination centres are set to open around the country tomorrow – with one of them in Laois.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has confirmed that the centres will be in Galway, Dublin and Portlaoise.
The locations of the centre in Portlaoise will be the Killeshin Hotel on the Dublin Road.
The Killeshin Hotel, and the other centres will be used, according to the Minister, to vaccinate GPs and their teams.
LaoisToday understands that members of the HSE inspected some of the hotels in Portlaoise recently as to their suitability to carry out such an operation – and the Killeshin was chosen.
Speaking on RTE Radio One with Bryan Dobson, Professor Brian MacCraith, Chair of the High-Level Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccination, confirmed the news.
It is believed that the Moderna vaccine will be used in these centres.
He said: “It will be for GPs and GP teams. A very modest supply of the Moderna vaccine arrived earlier this week – around 3,600 doses.
“They were very clear in their instructions regarded the second dose so this first delivery will allow us to vaccinate 1,800 people.
“We felt we should use it as an opportunity to address and support the GP community who will play a crucial role in the vaccination programme.
“We will learn a lot from this and when we get into vaccinated 100,000s of people per week, which is not that far away, what we learn from this weekend will be invaluable.
“Late February or early March is likely for this – but that will depend on the volumes of vaccine available.”
Mr McCraith hopes these centres could be open to the general public in late February or early March – depending on vaccine numbers available.
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