The vaccination portal for those aged 61 and over will open on Wednesday with 19,378 appointment slots, the health ministry announced.

The portal will be open from 8am Wednesday April 7 to 7pm on Thursday April 8. Appointments will be available across vaccination centres in all districts.

As of April 5, 165,116 vaccines have been administered, of which 117,615 covered the first dose and 47,501 both doses.

In addition, 7,577 people belonging to vulnerable groups have received their first dose, while 548 home vaccinations were given to bedridden people.

At least 81.65 per cent of people aged 80 and older, and 76.34 per cent of people aged 70-79 have been vaccinated with the first dose.

The ministry reminded that along with people belonging to the age groups that have priority at each opening of the vaccination portal, those who are older are entitled to access the portal and schedule appointments.

Thanks to scheduled deliveries of three vaccines in the coming days, the ministry estimates that by the end of April all vulnerable groups will have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and that coverage will proceed to lower age groups so that those aged 45 or older can get at least their first dose by early May.