9,000 use portal to register for Covid vaccine in first hour

Nine thousand people registered for a Covid-19 vaccine within the first hour of the HSE's online portal opening this morning. A further 500 registered by phone.

To register for a vaccine on line you need a mobile phone number, email address, Eircode and your PPS number.

The HSE is asking people aged 65 to 69 to register on specific days based on their age to manage demand, starting with 69 year olds today. 68-year-olds will be able to register tomorrow, 67-year-olds on Saturday and so on.

Celine Clarke from Age Action Ireland says its important to note that you can also register by phone.

The HSE says it will be assigning appointments by age and everyone in this cohort will be getting the AstraZenenca vaccine.