THE Delta variant of Covid-19 is a “big concern” to the Government, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has told a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting. 
The Tanaiste told his party colleagues that there is now increased concern about the spread of the variant in Ireland. 
The Delta Variant is of ‘big concern to GovtCredit: AFP
Tanaiste Leo VaradkarCredit: PA
The Fine Gael leader acknowledged that Covid case numbers remain stable in Ireland with hospital numbers also remaining low but warned that the variant is a “big concern.”
The Tanaiste referenced rising cases of the variant in the UK and described the situation as “worrying.” 
He said no decision has yet been made about the further lifting of restrictions in July.
COVID BOOST
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of spare AstraZeneca vaccines could be given to over 18s within weeks in an effort to ward off the Delta Covid-19 variant.
It comes as Tanaiste Leo Varadkar today branded the spike in variant cases as the dark cloud on the horizon.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee may urge the Government to offer the jab to young people amid rising concerns of a fourth wave of Delta cases in those yet to be vaccinated.
Ireland is currently in a race to vaccinate the population before the variant, which is more transmissible and causes more severe symptoms, takes over.
And the Fine Gael leader said the Government will make a decision on whether to continue with the reopenings from July 5 “by the end of the next week”.
DECISION DEADLINE
He said: “The Government will make a decision at the end of next week [Thursday or Friday] based on new data.
“It’s an uncertain environment. The Government position is that the date is July 5 but a decision won’t be made and can’t be made until more data is available.
“One thing we can’t give people, when it comes to the pandemic, is clarity. We can only give an indication.
I know that’s not satisfactory…it’s very frustrating for people, especially those trying staff and stock businesses.”
Varadkar confirmed Ireland will have more AstraZeneca vaccines than it needs in the coming weeks and said that it would be a shame if the jabs are not put to use.
Varadkar said this morning that once those over 60 have received their second AstraZeneca jab there may be hundreds of thousands of jabs to spare and said they could be used to vaccinate over 18s in a couple of weeks time.
‘BETTER OPTION’
He said: Giving people vaccines that we have, to give them some protection, might be a better option than saying, you’ve no protection now, you’ll have to wait until later.
Currently, the AstraZeneca vaccine as well as the Johnson and Johnson one shot jabs are restricted to people in older cohorts out of fears that it may cause rare blood clots in younger age groups.
And Irelands vaccination programme will slow down in July with only deliveries of Moderna and Pfizer available.
Other European countries such as the Netherlands have now opted to offer the AstraZeneca jab to those aged over 18 on an opt-in basis. 
And 600,000 more Johnson and Johnson jabs are late arriving in Ireland.
REOPENING AT STAKE 
Varadkar said only a small fraction of the delivery has arrived despite being arranged for the end of June. He said the jabs are being administered in pharmacies, only to those over 50. 
It comes as Ministers debate the risks of re-opening the country further as the Delta strain looms. 
Under the current roadmap, pubs and restaurants are set to welcome back customers for indoor service in less than two weeks time.
The July 5 changes would also see the return of First Communions, confirmations and some outdoor events before Irish holidaymakers finally return to the airports from July 19. 
But today, Health minister Stephen Donnelly warned he is concerned that the rapidly evolving Delta situation could tear up the Government’s plans.
‘RAPIDLY EVOLVING’
The Fianna Fail TD told RTEs Morning Ireland: “We know Covid tears up the best laid plans and it’s a rapidly evolving situation with Delta.”
He added: “I am concerned and I know people are asking about the reopening.
“The answer to the reopening is we have a process that we have been using all year which I think people support and want to see, which is coming up to a reopening date NPHET do a full analysis.
“We also get an economic analysis, a social analysis and then Cabinet makes its decisions.
“So if we go back to the last set of reopenings actually NPHET came to the Covid committee and said we’re actually ahead of expectations, the country is doing really well so we can go further.”
Donnelly said Ireland’s epidemiological situation is “very positive” despite being “surrounded by the Delta variant”.
He added: “There are two very different things going on here.
“The epidemiological situation in the country, other than Delta, is very positive.
“The number of cases is continuing to fall, we’re seeing phenomenal results in terms of the protections afforded by the vaccines and the numbers in hospital and ICU are still very, very low.
“So we’re starting from a very strong position, except the 19 to 24-year-olds are falling whether they are vaccinated or not.”