The Health Service Executive (HSE) said more than 1,570 people have been vaccinated at its clinics, on the first day of its swine flu vaccination campaign which started today.
The H1N1 vaccine is being offered to between 400,000 and 500,000 patients in at-risk groups.
The HSE said its clinics in Dublin north east had the highest take-up with 569 people vaccinated. In the southern region 504 people were vaccinated while 307 doses were administered in Dublin mid Leinster. HSE clinics in the west vaccinated 197 people.
The HSE said that the vaccine will be available through 2,300 GPs and at 45 special HSE clinics in areas where GPs are not participating in the vaccination campaign.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said this afternoon demand for the vaccine had varied in the different areas. In Ballymun, north Dublin, more than 100 people had received the vaccine by lunchtime.
At Merlin Park Clinic in Galway, more than 50 people have been vaccinated so far. However, in other clinics such as Dundrum in south Dublin the number of people requesting the vaccine has been far lower.
The HSE will provide a briefing on the first day of its vaccination programme atr 4pm this afternoon.
The HSE has appealed to people not in the 'at risk' category to wait for the swine flu jab. Patients should call their GP or one of these special HSE clinics for an appointment.
Department of Health chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan urged people not to be complacent about swine flu.
“This is now a national public health emergency,” he said.
While most people have had a mild infection, he said, significant complications can and do arise among people who are otherwise healthy.
“The experience in Ireland so far has shown that more than half the almost 500 people who have required admission to hospital do not have an underlying illness,” he writes in the opinion page of today’s Irish Times .
He added that while some may be concerned about taking a new vaccine, the overwhelming medical and scientific advice, both national and international, is that the benefits far outweigh any risks.
Advertisements listing the locations and opening hours of the clinics have been placed in today’s newspapers and are also on www.swineflu.ie