The number of eligible people who availed of Covid-19 vaccine boosters ranged from just 8 per cent to 33 per cent across certain electoral areas in the State last year.
A second booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine was recommended for those aged 65 years and older, healthcare workers, those aged 12 or older with a weak immune system or residents of long-term care facilities. It was also recommended for pregnant women at 16 weeks or later who had not already received a booster vaccine in their current pregnancy.
A second booster was later extended to include people aged 50-plus on August 25th 2022.
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However, data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that in some areas, uptake of the second booster was low. The local electoral areas with the lowest second booster rates were all in the Dublin area, such as Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, where the rate was just 8 per cent, as well as Tallaght-South and the North Inner City.
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Statisticians said this may partly be due to the younger population structure of these areas.
The highest uptake was 33 per cent in Rathfarnham-Templeogue.
Primary vaccine uptake among children aged from five to 11 ranged from a low of four per cent in Donegal’s Buncrana and Carndonagh to a high of 55 per cent in Stillorgan, Dublin.
An analysis by nationality showed that 92 per cent of Irish employees had completed their primary course of vaccines, compared with just under half (48 per cent) of employees from the 13 countries who joined the EU since 2004.
Almost nine in ten (89 per cent) of Irish employees had received a booster, 72 per cent of whom had received the first booster, and 17 per cent of whom received a further booster.
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The data on the employment status of records of vaccination was made available by the Revenue PAYE Modernisation system (PMOD) combined with the HSE Vaccine Information System.
By November 30th 2022, a primary course of vaccinations was completed for 85 per cent of all employees, while 61 per cent had received their first booster and 13 per cent had their second booster.
About one-in-six of all employees (15 per cent) had not completed their primary course of vaccinations.
The accommodation and food services sector had the highest percentage of employees who had not completed their primary course of vaccinations at 22 per cent, while nearly all employees (98 per cent) in the human health and social work sector had received a booster.
