The situation in Irish hospitals has been described as "critical" by the CEO of the HSE.
There are 650 patients with COVID-19 receiving some level of critical care, Paul Reid said.
214 people are in intensive care while 436 are receiving advanced respiratory support.
Mr Reid said on Twitter: "Our teams are battling to hold the levels of care that we value and to save lives.
"It's not an Emergency [Department] crisis now but it's probably more critical than that."
Our teams are battling to hold the levels of care that we value & to save lives. 650 #COVID19 patients are now receiving levels of critical care. 214 in ICU & 436 on Advanced Resp support. It's not an Emergency Dept crisis now but it's probably more critical than that. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) January 24, 2021
Meanwhile, the HSE says some hospitals kept giving COVID-19 vaccines to their administration staff, even after being told to have lists of frontline workers on standby for any extra doses.
In a statement issued last night, it says it acknowledges the "disappointment and frustration" this has caused for staff in direct contact with patients and still waiting for the vaccine.
Trade union Siptu says many paramedics, healthcare assistants and radiographers now face a three-week wait after their appointments were put back.
It comes as the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that "we are beginning to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infection".
He said this was through the "solidarity shown by families and communities across the country in recent weeks".
There were 77 further deaths, one which occurred in December, and 1,910 new cases of coronavirus reported yesterday evening.
This was the first time the daily case numbers have been less than 2,000 since January 1st.
