A child and a pregnant woman have died in the past week from swine flu, it was revealed this afternoon.
Both were from the east of the country. The child had an underlying health condition.
The two cases, which were not connected, bring the total death toll from the virus in the Republic to 16.
At a briefing in Government Buildings this afternoon, Department of Health officials said the infection rate – at 174.8 per 100,000 of the population - was slightly down on the 178 figure recorded in the previous week.
Hospitalisation rates and admissions to intensive care have also seen a 10 per cent drop in the past week, the department said. Some 122 people were admitted to hospital last week.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said the lower rates of infection were and indication that the "situation was stabilising".
Health Surveillance Protection Centre (HSPC) director Darina O'Flanagan said the rate quates to about 27,000 new infections last week.
The briefing was also told that GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures one of the two vaccines being offered to the population, had confirmed most people will only require a single dose to be protected from the H1N1 virus.
Children under 13 and those will suppressed immune systems will require two doses. This means there will now be a surplus of vaccinations in the country, the briefing heard.
About 250,000 people have received the swine flu vaccine so far, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said yesterday. Some 30,000 people have been vaccinated at HSE-run clinics and more than 200,000 doses of the vaccine have been given by about 2,000 GPs since the vaccination programme began 10 days ago.
An estimated 400,000 people from at-risk medical groups and pregnant women were asked to present for the vaccine first. Children under five years and people aged 65 and over are to be offered the vaccine later this month and early next month.
HPSC figures show that children aged four years and under have had the highest rates of swine flu infection so far. Vaccination of 800,000-900,000 school pupils starts on November 23rd.
Meanwhile, health officials in Northern Ireland today confirmed another swine flu death. The victim, an adult with an underlying health condition, is the 11th person to die in the North of the virus.