A limited number of people in the Republic could be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine before the end of this year, the Minister for Health has said.

Speaking at the launch of the Government's National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy, Minister Stephen Donnelly said that a meeting of the European Medicines Agency, which is responsible for approving the use of the vaccine in the EU, has brought forward a meeting about the vaccine's authorisation from December 29 to December 21.

If the vaccine is approved at this meeting, "it is possible that an initial round of vaccinations could occur before the end of the year". While this would involve "a very low volume of people", it is welcome news, the Minister said.

The national strategy was prepared by the High-Level Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccination, which was signed off by Cabinet on Tuesday morning. According to the task force's chairperson, Prof Brian MacCraith, while there are still lots of unknowns, such as delivery dates for the vaccine, the strategy has been designed to be a "living document".

"It needs to be agile, flexible and capable of evolving over time," he noted.

According to the strategy, vaccines will be rolled out in three phases - an initial roll-out, a mass ramp-up and open access. The highest priority groups will receive the vaccine first - these are people over the age of 65 in long-stay facilities, along with frontline healthcare workers who have direct contact with patients.

The vaccines will be administered in long-term care facilities, hospitals, mass vaccination clinics, GP surgeries and community pharmacists. Vaccinations will be carried out by qualified and trained healthcare workers, such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

Minister Donnelly thanked the Irish people for everything they have done this year to reduce the spread of the virus. He insisted that today is a "day of hope", but urged people to "keep minding each other and keep trying to keep each other safe".

The chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, reminded people that the arrival of vaccines "won't mean zero COVID" and he urged everybody to keep following the public health guidelines, such as social distancing, regular hand washing and the wearing of face masks in appropriate settings.

He said that the vaccine will not have an impact on the trajectory of COVID for months, so he called on people to consider their plans, particularly over Christmas.

"This news is hopeful, but we cannot afford to drop our guard now," he added.

The National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy can be viewed here.