This publication is categorised as a CSO Frontier Series Output. Particular care must be taken when interpreting the statistics in this release as it may use new methods which are under development and/or data sources which may be incomplete, for example new administrative data sources.
As of 31 August 2022:
COVID-19 Booster 1 rates range from 36% to 75% in Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) around the country.
The LEAs with the highest COVID-19 Booster 1 rates are Rathfarnham-Templeogue, Blackrock, and Dundrum.
COVID-19 Booster 2 rates were 12% on average across all LEAs in August 2022, an increase of 2% from the previous month. It is worth noting that Booster 2 was only offered to certain members of society. (See Editor's Note below for explanations and definitions)
COVID-19 Booster 2 rates range from 3% to 22% across all LEAs. These rates are calculated across the same population as for the fully vaccinated and Booster 1 population, but Booster 2 was not offered to all of the population.
Just 14% of employees across all sectors were not fully vaccinated. The Accommodation & Food Services sector had the highest percentage of employees who were not fully vaccinated at 23%.
The sector with the highest Booster 1 rate was Public Administration & Defence at 82%.
Among employees, the nationality group with the highest Booster 1 rate at 72% was Irish employees, while the lowest COVID-19 Booster 1 rates were in the EU15-27 nationality grouping.
LEA population estimates are updated to reflect the new Census of Population 2022 - Preliminary Results. The vaccination rates should be interpreted as estimates. For example, the number of persons who have received a vaccine only includes those who have been vaccinated in the State and would not include those who may have been vaccinated outside of the State. Further, the denominators used for LEA rates are based on population estimates. For employee rates the denominator used is all those that have a record of employment in the State in 2022 and may include those living abroad and paid by an Irish enterprise or those who are no longer resident in the State. As rates are estimates, this may lead to an underrepresentation or overrepresentation of the vaccination rates for a given grouping or LEA.
Booster 1: Booster 1 shots were available to people aged 12 years and over.
Booster 2: Booster 2 shots were recommended for those aged 65 years or older, healthcare workers, for those aged 12 or older who have a weak immune system or were residents of long-term care facilities, and for pregnant women at 16 weeks or later who have not already received a booster vaccine in their current pregnancy. Booster 2 vaccination programme was extended to include people aged 50 and over on 25 August 2022.
Booster 1 and Booster 2 rates are shown separately. The percentage range for Map 2 includes Booster 1 only and it is based on the whole population rather than as a function of the fully vaccinated population.
In this bulletin, the CSO has used Revenue PMOD data to provide insight on employment status of records of vaccination from the HSE Vaccine Information System. Using pseudonymised identifiers more than 86% (2.5m) of employees aged over 18 on 01 January 2022 with a record of employment in the PMOD system in 2022 were linked to a record of vaccination (i.e. fully vaccinated, Booster 1 or Booster 2) in the HSE Vaccination Information System. Additional demographic information was derived by linking to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) Central Records System (CRS).
Definitions for this release:
Map 1 presents the fully vaccinated rates (for those aged 5 to 11 years) by LEA as of 31 August 2022. The average fully vaccinated rate in 5- to 11-year-olds is 22% across all LEAs, but the rate ranges from 4% to 54%.
LEAs with lighter colours correspond with lower vaccine rates while the darker areas correspond with higher vaccine rates. Users can hover their mouse over the map to see the name of the LEA and the associated rate. Users can also zoom in on the map to see some of the LEAs that are smaller in geographical area.
Map 2 shows the COVID-19 Booster 1 rates by LEA as of 31 August 2022. The COVID-19 Booster 1 rate ranges from 36% to 75% in LEAs across the country.
Map 3 shows the monthly percentage point change in COVID-19 Booster 2 vaccines by LEA as of 31 August 2022. Booster 2 rates were 12% on average across all LEAs in August 2022. The average monthly increase in COVID-19 Booster 2 vaccines was 2% across all LEAs in August 2022.
Figure 1 shows the economic sector of employees aged 18 and over by COVID-19 vaccination status as of 31 August 2022. Just 14% of employees across all sectors were not fully vaccinated. The Accommodation & Food Services (I) sector had the highest percentage of employees who were not fully vaccinated at 23%, followed closely by the Construction (F) and Administrative & Support Services activities (N) sectors at 22%.
The sector with the highest combined Booster rate is in the Public Administration & Defence (O) sector at 86% of employees, while the lowest combined Booster rate is in the Accommodation & Food Service activities (I) sector at 51% of employees. The Finance & Real Estate (K, L) sector have the highest Booster 2 rate at 5% of employees (see Background Notes for NACE Rev.2 sector classifications).
| Booster 2 | Booster 1 | Fully Vaccinated | Not Fully Vaccinated | |
| A | 4 | 58 | 18 | 20 |
| B-E | 2 | 62 | 20 | 17 |
| F | 2 | 50 | 26 | 22 |
| G | 2 | 61 | 22 | 15 |
| H | 4 | 62 | 15 | 19 |
| I | 1 | 50 | 26 | 23 |
| J | 1 | 70 | 16 | 13 |
| K, L | 5 | 76 | 10 | 9 |
| M | 2 | 71 | 15 | 12 |
| N | 2 | 54 | 22 | 22 |
| O | 4 | 82 | 9 | 5 |
| P | 4 | 79 | 10 | 7 |
| Q | 3 | 79 | 11 | 7 |
| R-U | 3 | 62 | 20 | 15 |
| All sectors | 3 | 66 | 17 | 14 |
Figure 2 shows the vaccination status of employees aged 18 years and over by Nationality as of 31 August 2022.
The nationality group with the highest Booster 1 rate were Irish employees at 70%, while the lowest Booster 1 rates were in the EU15-27 nationality group at 22%. Almost 67% of employees in the Rest of World nationality group had received their Booster 1. Some 51% of employees in the EU15-27 nationality group were not fully vaccinated. Just 8% of UK employees have received their Booster 2.
| Booster 2 | Booster 1 | Fully Vaccinated | Not Fully Vaccinated | |
| Irish | 7 | 72 | 17 | 4 |
| UK | 8 | 64 | 9 | 19 |
| EU13 | 2 | 47 | 20 | 31 |
| EU15-27 | 0 | 22 | 27 | 51 |
| Rest of World | 1 | 53 | 29 | 17 |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the Bulletin, Steven Conroy, Statistician, said: "This COVID-19 Vaccination Bulletin is based on COVID-19 Vaccinations and Booster programmes 1 and 2 that were given up to 31 August 2022.
Our analysis shows that the fully vaccinated rate for 5- to 11-year-olds ranges from 4% in Buncrana to 54% in Stillorgan. We can also see that COVID-19 Booster 1 rates range from 36% to 75% in LEAs around the country. COVID-19 Booster 2 rates were 12% on average across all LEAs in August 2022, an increase of 2% from the previous month. However, it should be noted that Booster 2 was only offered to particular groups of people. (see Editor's Note below)
The LEAs with the highest COVID-19 Booster 1 rates were Rathfarnham-Templeogue, Blackrock, and Dundrum. Some of the LEAs with the lowest COVID-19 Booster 2 rates were Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Tallaght South, and Inner-City Dublin. This may in part be due to the population structure of these LEAs.
The report also includes analysis using data from the Revenue PAYE Modernisation system (PMOD) to provide insight on employment status of records of vaccination from the HSE Vaccine Information System. Looking at employees by economic sector, the Accommodation & Food Services sector had the highest percentage of employees who were not fully vaccinated at 23%. Just 16% of employees across all sectors were not fully vaccinated. Some 51% of employees in the EU15-27 nationality group were not fully vaccinated. Among employees, the lowest COVID-19 Booster 1 vaccination rates were in the EU15-27 nationality grouping at 22%, while the highest rates were among Irish employees at 72%. Some 8% of UK employees have received their Booster 2.”