Coronavirus: Will ROI deliver 'million a month' vaccine promise?

The Irish vaccination programme is being ramped up... but will it deliver as promised?

A total of 314,216 people had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland by last Sunday, the latest figures show.

In all, 1.06m doses of the vaccine have been delivered.

But will the Irish government's promise of "a million-a-month" ramping-up of its vaccine programme deliver?

Many people living in the Republic of Ireland who have endured a long lockdown are hopeful, but they are not banking on it.

For several months now, they have looked on enviously at the vaccination programme in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The Republic's vaccination programme is several weeks behind efforts in Northern Ireland

The prospect of a summer return to some form of normality entices many in Ireland.

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Mícheál Martin has admitted that the Republic's vaccination programme is about a month behind what is happening in Northern Ireland.

But he said that by the end of June - notwithstanding the usual caveats about supply - he expected around 80% of adults to have had their first vaccine and more than 50% to be fully vaccinated.

To achieve that he promised a major ramping-up of the vaccination programme over May and June with, on average, around 1m vaccinations to be administered each month.

It is the promise of "jam tomorrow" for people who have endured what has been described as the longest lockdown in the world as public health officials continue to take a cautious and conservative approach.

Even before the latest decision to restrict the use of AstraZeneca to those aged over 60, there were grounds for scepticism about whether those targets could be met.

On Tuesday, it was announced that immunisation clinics in the Republic using the AstraZeneca vaccine have been cancelled for the rest of the week, except those arranged for some people over the age of 60.

The latest official week-on-week figures from Monday indicate there was an actual decrease in the rate of vaccinations rather than the promised ramping-up in April.

It has been "jam tomorrow" for people in the Republic of Ireland who endured a very long lockdown

Between now and the end of June, AstraZeneca had been meant to be used in slightly more than 20% of people eligible for vaccination.

But now its use is to be curtailed.

There are also question marks over the "one jab" Johnson and Johnson Janssen vaccine as US health authorities called for a pause in its use because of possible links between it and rare blood clotting.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (in the US) said six cases in 6.8 million doses had been reported and it was acting "out of an abundance of caution".

The company says it will also delay the vaccine rollout in Europe.

US health authorities are calling for a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine

By the end of June, the plan was for the Janssen vaccine to account for just over 15% of all vaccinations with Pfizer making up 55% and Moderna about 10%.

Ministers and officials have so far given no indication that they may fail to reach their vaccination targets.

But many people in the Republic of Ireland are looking increasingly at those figures more in hope than in expectation.