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.
On 31 December 2022:
The Primary Course Completed rate for 5- to 11-year-olds ranged from 4% in Buncrana and Carndonagh in Donegal to 55% in Stillorgan, Dublin, with no significant change from November.
Booster 2 rates ranged from a low of 9% in Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart to a high of 37% in Rathfarnham-Templeogue. Please note that Booster 2 was only offered to certain groups of people. (See Editor's Note below for explanations and definitions)
The Local Electoral Area (LEA) with the highest monthly percentage point change in Booster 2 rates was Dungarvan in Waterford at 9%.
Booster 3 rates ranged from 2% in Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart to 14% in Rathfarnham-Templeogue. It is worth noting that the Booster 3 was only offered to certain groups of people. (See Editor's Note below for explanations and definitions)
The LEA with the highest monthly percentage point change in Booster 3 was Rathfarnham-Templeogue at 10%.
About five in six of all employees (85%) had completed their primary course of vaccinations. The Human Health & Social Work and Public Administration & Defence sectors had the highest percentage of employees who had completed their primary course of vaccinations at 99% respectively.
Almost all employees (97%) in the Education sector had received a booster, 73% had received Booster 1, and 24% had received further boosters.
Around nine in ten (91%) Irish employees had received a booster, 71% had received Booster 1, with 20% receiving further boosters.
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 was available to people aged 12 years and over.
Booster 2: Booster 2 was recommended for those aged 65 years and older, healthcare workers, for those aged 12 or older with a weak immune system or were residents of long-term care facilities, and for pregnant women at 16 weeks or later who had not already received a booster vaccine in their current pregnancy. The Booster 2 vaccination programme was extended to include people aged 50 and over on 25 August 2022.
Booster 3: Booster 3 was available to people aged 65 years and older or for those aged 12 or older with a weak immune system. The Booster 3 vaccination programme began in October 2022.
The percentage ranges for Map 2, 3 and 4 are based on the whole population rather than as a function of the fully vaccinated population. Booster 1, 2, and 3 rates are shown separately.
The CSO has used Revenue PMOD data to provide insight on employment status of records of vaccinated people from the HSE Vaccine Information System. Using pseudonymised identifiers more than 2.7 million employees (86%) aged over 18 on 01 January 2022 who had a record of employment in the PMOD system in 2022 were linked to a record of vaccination. These records, from the HSE Vaccination Information System, covered primary course completed, booster 1, booster 2 or booster 3. Additional demographic information was derived by linking to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) Central Records System (CRS).
Further definitions for this release:
Map 1 presents the Primary Course Completed rates (for those aged 5 to 11 years) by LEA on 31 December 2022. The Primary Course Completed rate in 5- to 11-year-olds ranges from a low of 4% in Buncrana and Carndonagh in Donegal to a high of 55% in Stillorgan, Dublin, which had not significantly changed from November.
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 monthly percentage point change in Booster 2 rates by LEA on 31 December 2022. The LEA with the highest monthly percentage point change in Booster 2 rates was Dungarvan in Waterford at 9%.
Map 3 shows the monthly percentage point change in Booster 3 rates by LEA on 31 December 2022. The LEA with the highest monthly percentage point change in Booster 3 rates was Rathfarnham-Templeogue at 10%.
Figure 1 shows the economic sector of employees aged 18 and over by COVID-19 vaccination status on 31 December 2022. Note that if an employee has received a booster, then they will not be in the category ‘primary course completed (no boosters)’.
Just 15% of employees across all sectors had not completed their primary course of vaccinations. The Accommodation & Food Services (I) sector had the highest percentage of employees who had not completed their primary course at 22%, followed closely by Administrative & Support Services activities (N) sectors at 21%.
Nearly all employees (98%) in the Human Health & Social Work (Q) sector had received a booster, 72% had received Booster 1, and 26% had received further boosters. In the Education (P) sector, 97% of employees had received a booster, 73% had received Booster 1, and 24% had additional boosters. In the Accommodation & Food Services (I) sector, just 49% of employees had received a booster, 44% had received Booster 1, and 5% had further boosters (see Background Notes for NACE Rev.2 sector classifications).
| Booster 3 | Booster 2 (No further boosters) | Booster 1 (No further boosters) | Primary Course Completed (No boosters) | Primary Course Not Completed | |
| All sectors | 1 | 15 | 59 | 10 | 15 |
| O | 2 | 24 | 72 | 1 | 1 |
| Q | 1 | 24 | 72 | 2 | 1 |
| P | 2 | 22 | 73 | 1 | 2 |
| K, L | 3 | 22 | 70 | 1 | 4 |
| M | 1 | 14 | 68 | 6 | 11 |
| J | 1 | 13 | 65 | 9 | 12 |
| R-U | 2 | 13 | 58 | 15 | 12 |
| G | 1 | 12 | 57 | 17 | 13 |
| B-E | 1 | 12 | 59 | 12 | 16 |
| H | 2 | 17 | 59 | 5 | 17 |
| A | 2 | 12 | 54 | 14 | 18 |
| F | 1 | 8 | 48 | 22 | 21 |
| N | 1 | 9 | 49 | 20 | 21 |
| I | 0 | 5 | 44 | 29 | 22 |
Figure 2 shows the vaccination status of employees aged 18 years and over by Nationality on 31 December 2022.
Just under half (46%) of employees from the 13 countries who joined the EU since 2004 (EU15-27) had completed their primary course of vaccines, compared with 93% of Irish employees. Around nine in ten (91%) Irish employees had received a booster, 71% had received Booster 1, with 20% receiving further boosters. Eight in ten (80%) UK employees had received a booster, 60% had received Booster 1, and 20% had further boosters. More than two in ten (22%) EU15-27 employees had received a booster.
| Booster 3 | Booster 2 (No further boosters) | Booster 1 (No further boosters) | Primary Course Completed (No boosters) | Primary Course Not Completed | |
| Irish | 2 | 18 | 71 | 2 | 7 |
| UK | 1 | 19 | 60 | 2 | 18 |
| Rest of World | 0 | 6 | 47 | 15 | 32 |
| EU13 | 0 | 6 | 43 | 10 | 41 |
| EU15-27 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 24 | 54 |
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the Bulletin, Steven Conroy, Statistician, said: "The data in this bulletin is based on COVID-19 Vaccinations and Booster 1, 2 and 3 programmes that were given up to 31 December 2022. Note that only certain groups of people were offered Booster 2 and 3, see Editor's Note below for further information.
The Primary Course Completed rate for children aged 5 to 11 ranged from a low of 4% in Donegal's Buncrana and Carndonagh to a high of 55% in Stillorgan, Dublin, which had not significant changed from November. The rates for Booster 1 ranged from 37% in Buncrana to 76% in Rathfarnham-Templogue. The Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) with the lowest Booster 2 rates were all in Dublin: Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Tallaght South, and North Inner-City Dublin. The LEAs with the lowest Booster 3 rates were Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Ongar, Tallaght South, and North Inner-City Dublin in December 2022. This may partly be due to the population structure of these LEAs as they tend to have a younger population than other LEAs.
Breakdown by Sector
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. By 31 December 2022, a primary course of vaccinations was completed for 85% of all employees, while 59% had received Booster 1 and 16% had received further boosters.
Nearly all employees (97%) in the Education sector had received a booster, 73% had received Booster 1 and 24% had received further boosters. In the Accommodation & Food Services sector, just 49% of employees had received a booster, 44% had received Booster 1 and 5% had further boosters.
Breakdown by Nationality
An analysis by nationality shows that just under half (46%) of employees from the 13 countries who joined the EU since 2004 (EU15-27) had completed their primary course of vaccines, compared with 92% of Irish employees. Around nine in ten (91%) Irish employees had received a booster by 31 December 2022 - where 71% had received Booster 1 with 20% receiving further boosters. Eight in ten (80%) UK employees had received a booster, 60% had received Booster 1 and 20% had further boosters. More than two in ten (22%) EU15-27 employees had received a booster.”