Meath/Louth Covid-19 vaccination update: Nearly 80,000 vaccinations carried out in Navan, Dundalk & Drogheda to date
A second Covid-19 vaccination centre for Meath has formally opened at Fairyhouse Racecourse this week as the HSE ramps up the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Meath and Louth to meet the huge demand for vaccines in both counties.
The new centre will accommodate up to 20 vaccination bays and will provide additional capacity to the existing 10-bay centre in Simonstown, Navan which is now working at full capacity, vaccinating 1,000 people daily, operating 12 hours a day, on a 7-day week. It will bring the number of vaccination bays in Co Meath up to 30 overall.
When working at full capacity, on a six-day 9am-5pm basis, the vaccination centre at Fairyhouse will cater for 1,500 people daily. This will increase to 2,000 daily on a six-day 8am-8pm schedule.
The COVID-19 vaccination programme is a complex operation providing multiple vaccines across many centres to different target groups. Our priorities are safety and working to protect people as quickly as we can.
To date, nearly 80,000 vaccinations have been administered in Navan, Dundalk & Drogheda Community Vaccination Centres (CVCs), as well as at the new CVC in Fairyhouse.
The Community Vaccination Centre (CVC) in Simonstown GAA Club in Navan, Co Meath, which initially opened on 22 April 2021 show that the centre has vaccinated 41,187 people to the end of June. The vaccination centre in the Fairways Hotel in Dundalk, which initially opened on the 20 April, has vaccinated 30,796 people, while 5,092 people have received vaccines at the vaccination centre at Drogheda Institute of Further Education (not including staff vaccination numbers). A total of 2,010 vaccinations have already been provided at Fairyhouse.
A key concern is the ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA) rate for vaccinations in both Meath and Louth which is adding to the waiting lists for vaccines. We would urge people to avail of this opportunity to receive the vaccine and to take the appointment they are offered. From now on, a person who does not attend for vaccination after the third time of offer will be taken off the list for vaccination.
We now have centres in Fairyhouse, Navan, Dundalk and Drogheda along with the ability to call on the Helix in North Dublin and Mullingar CVC, when necessary so people will never have to travel too far. However, given the volumes we are dealing with as we move into more populous age groups, some people may not necessarily get an appointment in the centre closest to them but the one that can take them at that time. Again, we would encourage people to take the appointment and vaccine offered.
Last updated on: 02 / 07 / 2021
