The first delivery of almost 10,000 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is due to arrive in Ireland today.

The first delivery of almost 10,000 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is due to arrive in Ireland today.
The first vaccinations are expected to be administered on Wednesday.
Health Service Executive CEO Paul Reid described it as a “momentous day” and “there will be better days ahead for sure”.
It comes as Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan confirmed that a more contagious form of coronavirus has been detected in Ireland.
He said the Health Service Executive is making arrangements to test recent UK arrivals and that anyone arriving from the country should strictly self-isolate for a full 14 days after entering Ireland.
From tomorrow no new inter-county travel will be allowed, although people already away from home over Christmas can return to their own counties.
Yesterday, the Department of Health confirmed 1,025 new cases of Covid-19 with two further deaths.
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An early morning start to a momentous day. Heading off to take recepit of the first delivery of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for the HSE. There will be better days ahead for sure. For now, #StaySafe. @HSELive#COVID19
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) December 26, 2020
Latest figures from the HSE show that there were 260 people with Covid-19 in Irish hospitals as of 8pm last night,  up four on the previous evening.
Hospitals with the highest number of patients include Beaumont with 52, Letterkenny University Hospital with 26 and Tallaght University Hospital with 22.
The figures also show that as of last night, there were 25 Covid-19 patients in intensive care, with 13 of these on ventilators.
There were 64 critical care beds available.