Dr Margaret Harris from the WHO said those who are vaccinated still need to be careful to protect others.
Dr Margaret Harris from the WHO said those who are vaccinated still need to be careful to protect others.
The vaccine has been tested for and designed to stop severe disease and stop people from dying from the severe virus, the public health physician said.
"We don't know whether they stop transmission from person to person and that is important because people think 'I'm vaccinated, I can do what I like' and that is not the case," said Dr Harris.
"You have to keep up the public health and social measures just in case."
The Covid-19 vaccine portal has opened for 49-year-olds to register this morning.
Very high risk patients and frontline healthcare workers who have yet to receive an appointment can also register. People can sign up by phone or online.
They will be given Pfizer or Moderna when vaccinations start later this month but it is expected Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca will be offered if they are not available at the time.
Consultant in Infectious Diseases at St James' Hospital in Dublin, Professor Clíona Ní Cheallaigh, said allowing an option of vaccines to chose from is important.
Prof Ní Cheallaigh believes giving people the choice will help to speed up the overall vaccination process.
"It allows people to make up their own minds as to whether they feel the very small risk of blood clots with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson outweigh the risks of waiting longer to get Pfizer or Moderna," she said.
Comment: If you've been paying attention, there was never any intent for life to go 'back to normal' after the vaccine rollout, despite all the 'promises'. See also: