According to the latest figures, a large urban-rural divide has emerged in the use of the Covid-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.
The highest take-up was at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in Dublin at 53 percent, followed by Blackrock at 48 percent and Glencullen-Sandyford at 48 percent.
This compares with only 4 pc of children receiving the shot in Buncrana, Co Donegal, 5 pc in Carndonagh in the north of the province and 6 pc in Belmullet, Co Mayo.
Nationally, 23.9 percent of children have been vaccinated because parents have been slow in taking the shot. Take-up in other areas includes 23 pc in Sligo-Drumcliffe, 21 pc in Ennis, 25 pc in Limerick City, 6 pc Belmullet, 9 pc in Ballinamore, Leitrim, 19 pc in Tralee and 21 pc in Ennis.
The vaccine has been available for more than six months, starting with children who were medically vulnerable.
In the week of July 3-9, there were 530 cases of Covid in five to 12-year-olds, eight of them in hospital.
According to the HSE: “While serious illness from Covid-19 is rare in this age group, they are even less likely to become seriously ill with Covid-19 if they are vaccinated.
“It is also especially important for children and young people who live with someone who is at risk of the effects of Covid-19.”
The latest Irish figures from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) come as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it is currently evaluating an application to phase out the use of the Moderna vaccine in children aged six months to five years. expand.
A spokeswoman said: “The review began on May 10. When our human medicines committee reaches an opinion, we will communicate that.”
It comes amid further signs that the Covid wave is slowing in Ireland over the summer, with hospital admissions falling.
There were 888 Covid patients in hospital on Saturday, compared to more than 1,000 earlier in the week.
Of these, 39 were in intensive care, against 46 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, about 21 possible cases of children with hepatitis of unknown cause have been identified in Ireland since March, and a small number of children are under investigation. All probable cases are in children under 12 years of age and 20 of the 21 cases were hospitalized.
In the beginning, one child died and two had a liver transplant, but the children affected since then have recovered.
As of July 8, about 35 countries in five regions of the World Health Organization reported 1,010 possible cases.
Adenovirus remains the most frequently detected pathogen among the cases.
This was detected by PCR in 52 percent of cases with available results. In Japan, adenovirus was detected in 9 percent of cases with known results.
Covid has been identified in a number of cases, but data on serological results are limited. The cause of these cases of hepatitis is still under investigation.
The European Center for Disease Control said it is working closely with the countries involved, WHO and other relevant stakeholders in the study.
The current leading hypothesis is that a cofactor affecting young children with adenovirus infection, which would normally be mild, causes a more severe infection or immune-mediated liver damage.
Other areas are still under investigation and have not been ruled out, but are considered less plausible.
It said the disease is rare and the evidence surrounding human-to-human transmission remains unclear; cases in the EU are almost entirely sporadic.