People have been urged to get their boosters as quickly as possible to protect against the Omicron variant.
The new strain is causing the virus to spread quickly, with more than 10,000 cases reported yesterday.
DCU professor of health systems Anthony Staines says getting boosted helps the individual and the wider healthcare system:
"It gives a great protection to the person themselves. But it also gives protection to the Health Service because there is a real risk that with the number of cases are having at the moment that the health service would just be swamped. It's already under great stress, but that could get much, much worse early in the New Year and the vaccination is probably our best shot at at least ending that or delaying that."
