Ireland made the right call in pausing the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn.
Rollout of the vaccine was suspended in several countries, including Ireland, over blood clot fears.
It followed reports of several unusual cases of clotting in recently vaccinated people in Norway.
Following a review of the cases, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has concluded that the vaccine is “safe and effective”.
Irish officials are due to give an update on the vaccine tomorrow, while most other countries - including Germany and the Netherlands - have already said they will start using the vaccine again in the coming days.
Speaking at a NPHET briefing, Dr Ronan Glynn said he is happy with the approach taken here.
He explained: "Clearly I believe the right decision was made - we acted swiftly, and in the best interests of the population but also in the interests of the vaccination programme.
“We got a report on Saturday night that was very concerning and unusual.
"We acted on the basis of that information, and I hope in time that will be seen to have protected the vaccination programme and confidence in the vaccination programme.”
Health officials here are set to consider the EMA's findings tonight and tomorrow morning, with an update expected on Friday.
Earlier, the EMA said the jab is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots.
They can't yet definitively rule out a link between the vaccine and the very rare cases of clotting, but say the number of incidents "was lower than that expected in the general population".
They explained: "There have been very rare cases of unusual blood clots accompanied by low levels of blood platelets (components that help blood to clot) after vaccination. The reported cases were almost all in women under 55.
"Because COVID-19 can be so serious and is so widespread, the benefits of the vaccine in preventing it outweigh the risks of side effects."
They added that additional information will be given to vaccine recipients about the "remote possibility of such syndromes".
AstraZeneca itself, meanwhile, said today's EMA findings "affirm the overwhelming benefit of our vaccine in stopping the pandemic".
They added that they now trust that vaccinations can resume across Europe.
