Eighteen more deaths from COVID-19 have been reported, as well as 358 new cases.

Of the 18 deaths, seven occurred this month, one is still under investigation and the rest occurred before April. The median age of those who died was 85 years and the age range was 46-102.

The total number of deaths now stands at 4,803, while the total number of cases now stands at 241,684.

As of 8am on Tuesday morning, 205 COVID patients were in hospital, 48 of whom were in ICU. There had been 11 additional hospitalisations in the previous 24 hours.

As of April 11, 1,063,666 doses of the vaccine had been administered. Over 314,000 people have received their two doses.

Meanwhile, the HSE has confirmed that all vaccination clinics involving the AstraZeneca vaccine have been cancelled for the rest of this week, "except those arranged for certain people over the age of 60".

"Some clinics will be in a position to proceed with the vaccination of patients over the age of 60 this week, in line with the new guidance, and in these cases individuals will be contacted directly by their vaccination centre to arrange their appointment.

"Anybody who is due to attend an AstraZeneca clinic, and who is not contacted directly in advance, is therefore advised not to attend. We will be in contact with such patients in due course to rearrange their appointment at a later date," the HSE said.

The decision to cancel was made to allow the HSE to reconfigure its rollout plans in order to take into account the latest guidance from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC).

On Monday, the NIAC said that it had changed its advice on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine "in light of the outcome of the recent investigation by the Europeans Medicines Agency (EMA)".

Following this investigation, the EMA has added a new rare side-effect to the vaccine's product information - unusual clotting events with low platelet counts. Such an event is estimated to occur between four and 10 in every one million people, one of whom may die.

As a result of this, the NIAC has recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be used on people under the age of 60, including those with medical conditions and high, or very high risk of severe COVID disease.

It also recommended that a second dose should not be given to anyone who developed unusual blood clots with low platelets after the first dose.

The advice for those who have already received a first dose of this vaccine is as follows:
-Those aged 60 and older should receive their second dose 12 weeks later as scheduled
-Those aged under 60 years with a very high risk or high-risk medical condition should receive their second dose 12 weeks later as scheduled
-Those aged under 60 years without a very high risk or high-risk medical condition should have the scheduled interval between doses extended to 16 weeks to allow further assessment of the benefits and risks as more evidence becomes available.

According to the NIAC chairperson, Prof Karina Butler, all the authorised COVID-19 vaccines, including the Astra Zeneca vaccine, "are highly effective in preventing hospitalisation and severe COVID-19 disease.

"The NIAC realises the need to balance the significant benefits of a national vaccination programme with the very rare risk of these reported events. While this is an extremely rare condition, consideration must be given to the fact that it has a very high risk of death or severe outcome. As the risk/benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine may vary by age, and as alternative COVID-19 vaccines are available, NIAC has revised the recommendations for use of this vaccine," she explained.

She added that the NIAC strongly encourages everyone "to accept the COVID-19 vaccine they are offered".

The HSE apologised for any inconvenience caused by the cancellation of the vaccination clinics. It added that it "continues to consider the revised NIAC guidance and will advise further in terms of wider implications for the administration of the vaccination programme in due course".