[35] On 21 February 2022, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly accepted recommendations from NIAC that booster vaccines be offered to children aged 12 to 15 years.

[56] On 8 April, the CEO of the Health Service Executive (HSE) Paul Reid announced that Ireland had reached the milestone of one million COVID-19 vaccines administered.

[58] On 25 April, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced that Ireland had reached the milestone of one million first doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered.

[71] On 8 September, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced an update to Ireland's COVID-19 vaccination programme, with residents aged 65 years and older living in long term residential care facilities and people aged 80 years and older living in the community to receive a booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

[72] Two days later on 10 September, latest figures showed that 90% of adults in Ireland were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while the seven-millionth dose was administered.

[85] On 23 February, following the publication of the Government's new revised Living with COVID-19 plan called "The Path Ahead", Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced an update to the COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy with people aged between 16 and 69 who are at very high risk of developing severe COVID-19 moved up the priority list, after the National Public Health Emergency Team endorsed recommendations by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.

[88][89] "People who have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk of severe disease and death" is defined as:[91] A High-Level Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccination was established on 11 November 2020 to oversee the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in the country once they were approved by the statutory authorities,[92] and to support the Department of Health and Health Service Executive (HSE) to deliver a COVID-19 immunisation programme that meets best practice and provides good governance.

[95][96][97] The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (an independent body outside of the HSE) provides expert, evidence-based and impartial guidance about the COVID-19 vaccines to the Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health.

[101] Major facilities were put in place in Cork, Dublin, Waterford, Sligo, Galway, Limerick and Athlone, with smaller centres in Mullingar, Longford, Ennis, Nenagh, Bantry and Tralee.

[104][105] Cork City Hall, Páirc Uí Chaoimh GAA grounds and Munster Technological University's Bishopstown campus were transformed into mass vaccination centres, administering 10,000 shots a day.

[114] On 14 March 2021, the administration of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was suspended in Ireland by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) as a precautionary measure following concerns over serious blood clots in Norway.

[123] In September 2024, an inquest into his death was told that he had suffered convulsions at home and was rushed to hospital where he was put on a life support machine.

[128] On 19 July, four months after the controversy, an independent report found that the decision by the hospital to provide vaccines to 20 teachers at the Bray school was incorrect, but was made in good faith.

[130][131] On 30 March 2021, a decision by the Government to overhaul the allocation of COVID-19 vaccines to an age-based system sparked anger and concern among teachers' unions and key workers.

[132] The new change meant that key workers in essential jobs and the education sector who couldn't avoid a high risk of exposure to the virus would lose vaccine prioritisation.

[133] Ireland's largest teaching union, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), strongly criticised moves to change the vaccination rollout plan stating it was "extremely concerned" by the news, while the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) echoed concerns and called for urgent engagement with the Department of Education.

[134] The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) stated it was "shocked and dismayed" by the changes and claimed the decision was "totally at odds" with the objective to keep schools open, while the president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) described the change as "a sucker punch" to their members, and that the decision "downgraded" the work of Gardaí and disregarded the risks they took while policing the pandemic.

[136][137] On 14 May 2021, the COVID-19 vaccination registration portal was made offline after the Health Service Executive (HSE) shut down all of its IT systems after a major ransomware attack, but was later restored in the evening.

[138][139] On 24 July 2021, around 1,500 protestors gathered in Dublin city centre to protest against vaccines, new legislation allowing for the reopening of indoor dining and the EU Digital COVID Certificate.

[140] On 27 November, thousands of people attended a protest against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine passports at the GPO on Dublin's O'Connell Street.