They offer a little reassurance in worrying times.

And now you can stock up on antigen tests for even less at Aldi stores nationwide after the discount supermarket announced it is dropping the price of its tests for the third time.

Deepblue brand antigen tests are now available in all Aldi stores nationwide with single tests retailing at €2.49 and packs of five at €12.45, beating the previous low price offered by Lidl (€2.99 for their Genrui Biotech Inc SARS-CoV-2 Antigen test kits) by 50c.

Not to be outdone, Mr Price is doing the Hygisun antigen test for €1.99.

The Deepblue antigen tests are available for home testing and will support the demand for precautionary measures against Covid-19 in the run-up to Christmas.

Commenting, Group Buying Director, John Curtin, said; “There has been a significant demand for antigen tests at many of our stores across the country. We have increased supply to satisfy customer demand and to ensure that customers can self-test when required in a more affordable manner.”

COVID-19 vaccine to be offered for 5-11 year-olds

Meanwhile, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has accepted new recommendations in relation to Ireland’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The recommendations were made by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), who has endorsed the recommendations.

NIAC have strongly recommended that children aged 5-11 years with an underlying condition, living with a younger child with complex medical needs or living with an immunocompromised adult should receive Comirnaty©, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/ BioNTech.

These three categories will be prioritised for vaccination at the same time as others with underlying conditions. NIAC have also recommended that vaccination should be offered to all children aged 5-11 years.

“As the country continues to experience a high incidence of disease, we have seen a significant increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in this age group.” Minister Donnelly said.

“While we know that most children will experience a very mild form of this disease if they pick it up, for a small few, they may become severely ill. Extending the possibility of vaccination to this age group offers another layer of protection to our children, and to those around them.”