A deal to get GPs and pharmacists administering the COVID vaccine has been given the go-ahead by cabinet Ministers.
From next month they will be able to give people the AstraZeneca vaccine which can be stored much more easily than the others available.
The deal is worth around €91m and will see vaccinations done in GP surgeries, mass vaccination centres and other venues.
Meanwhile, it's hoped GPs and pharmacists can vaccinate 1.5 million people against coronavirus by the end of the summer.
The Health Minister has confirmed 94 thousand people have received their first dose so far.
GPs and pharmacists have been calling on the government to involve them in the vaccine rollout plan.
Doctors and chemists will be paid €60 for every two doses given to patients.
The payment will be €35 for a single shot vaccine like the one being developed by Johnson and Johnson.
The main task for GPs and pharmacists will be to administer the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.
Darragh O'Loughlin from the Irish Pharmacy Union says they could vaccinate 1.5 million people by the end of the summer.
The Health Minister has confirmed 94,000 people have received a Covid vaccine so far - 71,000 frontline healthcare workers and 23,000 residents and staff of nursing homes.
The target is 140,000 by Sunday.
