Almost half of patients in hospital with Covid-19 are fully vaccinated against the virus, new figures have shown.
Although the majority of Covid-19 cases in hospital now involve vaccinated people, the overall number of hospitalisations is smaller due to the impact of vaccination.
One in six deaths of people with the virus since April have been categorised as breakthrough infections of fully vaccinated individuals, The Irish Times reports.
More than one in four intensive care admissions since July were also breakthrough infections of fully vaccinated people, according to HSE data.
HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said the rise in vaccinated patients in hospital “is not a surprise” as more and more people have been vaccinated.
“Vaccines were never going to be 100 per cent effective against infection; their big contribution is in preventing serious illness,” he said.
