REVEALED: How high is the Covid-19 vaccine uptake in Kilkenny?
A report in the Irish Independent has revealed the uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine in every county of Ireland. The trend shows that uptake is lowest in border and Midland counties while some parts of the east and south east have almost hit a 99% uptake.
In Kilkenny there has been a 89.9% uptake of the vaccine - impressive but still behind the impressive 98.5% uptake in neighbouring Waterford!
Good news for Kilkenny is that the county has the second lowest 14-day rate of the virus, to the end of August.
Donegal and Monaghan have the lowest uptake of the vaccine at 83.5% and 81.9% respectively. Both of those border counties have also shared the highest incidence rate of Covid-19 infection in the last two weeks.
That trend is mirrored throughout the country with a higher rate of infection in the community associated with a lower uptake of the vaccine.
The HSE figures show that the highest uptake of the vaccine has occurred in Waterford where nearly 99% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
While Waterford is joined by the likes of Wexford, Sligo and Wicklow with an uptake of the vaccine above 95%, Louth, Offaly and the capital Dublin all have a rate of uptake below 90%.
As an outlier, Laois has the third-lowest rate of vaccine uptake (85.8%) but currently has the fifth lowest incidence rate of the virus, showing that a low uptake doesn't always tally with a high level of community spread.
Overall Ireland has the second-highest vaccination uptake rate in the EU. Malta has the highest. Ireland's uptake among adults over 18 years of age is 92%.