Up to 40% of Mayo hospital staff still awaiting Covid vaccination

The expectation is that all staff at Mayo University Hospital will receive their Covid-19 vaccinations by the end of February.

The head of the Saolta Hospital Group, Tony Canavan, has revealed that up to 40% of staff at the Castlebar facility are still awaiting their vaccine.

At the same time, efforts are still ongoing to manage an outbreak of the virus at the centre, he confirmed.

Mr. Canavan told Midwest Radio that staff numbers on sick leave due to Covid infection have fallen within the group from 990 on January 19 to under 600 today.

He said while a downward trend in hospital and community Covid numbers is ongoing, further challenges and obstacles are expected over the coming weeks.

"The level of improvement is unlikely to continue along a straight line but the progress made over the last 10 days or so is very encouraging.

"Great credit is due to our frontline staff and members of the public for this achievement," he added.