People over the age of 65 who are living in long-term care facilities, frontline healthcare workers, and those over the age of 70, are to be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available here, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has announced.

He also confirmed that the vaccine will be free of charge to everyone in Ireland.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy is based on a Department of Health and National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) paper. It sets out a provisional priority list of groups for vaccination once a safe and effective vaccine has received authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Announcing the allocation strategy, Minister Donnelly insisted that vaccination is a "hugely effective intervention for saving lives and promoting good health".

"Recent news from vaccine developers is a beacon of hope after a very difficult year. Of course, the safety and effectiveness of vaccines is our absolute priority and any COVID-19 vaccine administered in Ireland will have to be authorised by the EMA.

"While we await news on whether these vaccines comply with all of the EMA's requirements of quality, safety and efficacy, the Government has been working ahead on plans for the rollout of vaccines," he explained.

He said that a key part of this work revolves around ensuring that those most vulnerable to COVID-19 get vaccinated first.

"Given the country's experience with COVID-19 to date and the risks that vulnerable people and those in frontline roles in the health and social care services continue to face, it is only right that they are prioritised in the allocation of vaccines. The Government has followed the advice from our leading medical experts," Minister Donnelly noted.

He pointed out that the allocation strategy will "evolve and adapt" as more information about the vaccines and their effectiveness becomes available.

However, he also emphasised that current public health guidance must continue to be followed, including regular hand washing, social distancing, reducing contacts and wearing face masks.

"While some may be tempted to let their guards down now that there are vaccines on the horizon, it is crucially important to continue to follow the public health guidance. COVID-19 is still a deadly disease.

"Through so much hard work and sacrifice, we now have the lowest 14-day incidence rate of COVID-19 in the EU. We are in a good position, and we want to keep it like that. Please remember that every single contact counts," the Minister added.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Strategy can be viewed here.

Meanwhile, a 28-year-old nurse in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast has become the first person on the island of Ireland to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Joanna Sloan was given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday morning. It had been approved for use in the UK by the government there on December 2.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, a 90-year-old grandmother, Margaret Keenan, who is originally from Northern Ireland, but now lives in England, became the first person in the world, who is not part of a clinical trial, to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. She was vaccinated at University Hospital, Coventry.