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Cumann na Daoine

A community based organisation in Youghal, Co. Cork, Ireland.

Vaccination Registration and Pandemic Payment information

45 – 49 year olds and ‘High risk’ people not yet vaccinated can register from today

[Fergal Bowers, Health Correspondent, RTÉ]

People at very high risk, or high risk, of Covid-19 due to underlying conditions can register for their vaccination from tomorrow, if they are aged 45-49 and have not yet got an appointment from their hospital or GP.

Registration will also open for health staff within this age group who have not got an appointment through their workplace and for people who do not have a PPS Number.

The registration will also open for the 45-49 age group, starting with those aged 49. Registration will be available for people aged 48 on Thursday, 47 on Friday, 46 on Saturday and 45 on Sunday.

All of the people in these various groups will get an mRNA vaccine, either Pfizer or Moderna.

Work is ongoing at the Health Service Executive around use of the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine.

The HSE says that the vaccinations will be administered later this month and in June.

Registration can be done online or by phone.

The HSE also said people in the high-risk and very high-risk categories are being vaccinated through their GPs.

It added that there is no change in the approach to the high-risk and very high-risk people in this category, compared to those in any other age group.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the vaccine programme’s computer system, which is a new system, has not been compromised in the cyber attack on the HSE and the programme is moving very quickly.

He said there has been no indication that it has been compromised at all.

He said two in five adults have now received a first dose and last week was a record week, with about 50,000 vaccinations administered in one day last week.

Earlier, the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer said the executive has received advice from National Immunisation Advisory Committee that people aged 40 to 49 could receive Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines.

Dr Colm Henry said the HSE will see if this advice, and conditions attached to it, can be reconciled to the vaccination programme, which is ramping up in scale and gathering pace.

Dr Henry said the priority is safety, but “getting through the age groups is clearly a priority as well”.

He told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that medical experts are agreed that the best vaccine you can get, is the one you are offered first.

Press Release issued from the Department of Social Protection (DEASP) on 18th May 2021 REGAarding pandemic payments & employment

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/ed0d7-update-on-payments-awarded-for-covid-19-pandemic-unemployment-payment-and-enhanced-illness-benefit/

The key points are:

  • Over 363,000 people receive the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week, a decrease of almost 13,500 on last week
  • Over €107 million in PUP weekly payments to be paid into bank accounts today
  • Almost 26,000 close their PUP account to return to work. 22,000 of these people will receive their final payment this week and will not be included in next week’s data
  • 1,558 people currently in receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit
  • As restrictions begin to ease, people returning to work should close their claim on their first day back in work by logging on to www.MyWelfare.ie
  • Employers who experience difficulties in re-hiring staff can notify the department at C19employerreports@welfare.ie
  • Public reminded about Scam Phone Calls and Scam Texts from callers claiming to be from the Department of Social Protection

Please note the following taken from the press release:

People returning to work:  

The Department continues to remind workers who are returning to work that they must close their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment on the actual date that they start back at work, in order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly and to avoid incurring an overpayment that the department will take steps to recover.

The easiest way to close a claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is online via www.MyWelfare.ie. Any worker returning to work with an enquiry about closing their claim can contact the department’s dedicated Income Support Helpline at 1890 800 024 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Re-hiring Staff:

The department notes the concerns expressed in recent days regarding employers facing difficulties in re-hiring staff. Experience from 2020 showed that about 400,000 people closed their PUP claim once the economy partially reopened. This is clear evidence that the vast majority of people want to, and will take up employment, once it is available to them. However, any employer who faces difficulties in re-hiring staff can notify the department at C19employerreports@welfare.ie and we will follow-up with on the cases concerned.