Five things we learned from today’s Covid-19 briefings

by



[ad_1]

It has been a busy week of news on Covid-19, with Level 5 restrictions relaxed on Tuesday and positive news on the development of potential vaccines for the coronavirus.

Tonight there have also been 183 new cases of the virus and six deaths related to Covid, reported by the Department of Health.

Both the Executive of the Health Service and the National Public Health Emergency Team held press conferences today in which several of these issues were discussed.

Here are five things we learned from both reports:

Ireland has the capacity to purchase 16 million doses of vaccines

HSE Executive Director Paul Reid has said that Ireland has the capacity to procure 16 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

He said that while “there will be no shortage of the vaccine”, the fact that they reach different stages means that there will be a “prioritization process”, which is currently being finalized.

The health chief said it is “realistic” to expect the Irish vaccine program to start in Ireland in early January next year.

Mr. Reid also said the HSE received nine ultra-low freezers earlier this month to store vaccines, in particular the Pfizer vaccine, which must be stored at -75 degrees Celsius.

The HSE chief warned that the vaccine “will not be our first line of defense.”

He said there is a risk from an HSE perspective that people will miss “the great basics” that have helped slow the spread of Covid-19 for the year to date.

Vaccine misinformation is cause for concern

At the second of two briefings today, Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said that misinformation about vaccines in general, and the Covid-19 vaccine in particular, is cause for concern.

Dr. Holohan said that vaccines are one of the most cost-effective interventions science has provided to protect public health.

He said that the authorization processes being carried out by the European Medicines Agency on behalf of Ireland are “very demanding” and will ensure that the right decisions are made.

His deputy, Dr. Ronan Glynn, said there is a very small but very loud group of people who are opposed to all vaccines, while many others have legitimate concerns about the Covid-19 vaccine.

Dr. Glynn said that we must be careful not to mix these two groups.

He said it is “very understandable” for people to have concerns about the vaccine, but urged people not to trust unsubstantiated information they read online about vaccines.

Read more: Latest coronavirus stories

Caution is advised during Christmas

HSE chief Paul Reid said “more closures” may not be needed in the new year, but only “if people follow all precautions” if they mix with others over the next several weeks.

He said the reopening of restaurants and gastropubs starting tomorrow gives people a “great opportunity to get together with friends and family.”

However, he said the HSE was encouraging everyone to “maintain a higher level of guard.”

Reid said people will naturally want to hug each other and wish each other a merry Christmas, but cautioned that this will pose “extreme risk.”

He said the risk to people during the pre-Christmas phase is that if they are infected, or a close contact of a confirmed case, they may have to spend Christmas Day in isolation or with restricted movements.

Mr. Reid urged people not only to wish them a safe Christmas, but to “practice what will make it a safe Christmas.”

Professor Philip Nolan, Chairman of the Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group of Ireland, said tonight that his personal goal is to limit close personal contacts to four people per week.

He said it is up to each of us to keep the level of weekly contacts as low as is reasonable.

Test milestone is coming

Ireland is on track to reach a “key milestone” of having completed 2 million tests for Covid-19 by the end of this week.

Speaking this afternoon, HSE CEO Paul Reid said that more than 1.9 million tests have been conducted since the outbreak began.

The demand for Covid-19 tests has decreased by more than 50% during the last six weeks.

The detection rate for the past week is about 3%, he added. This is down from a peak of more than 7% on October 26.

Niamh O’Beirne, National HSE Tracking and Testing Leader, said more than 85% of people get their result within 36 hours of their swab appointment.

The R number remains below 1

The R number, or replay number, which shows the amount of Covid-19 being transmitted across the country, remains below 1.

HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry said there is a “continuing state of stability in disease indicators,” with a 14-day incidence rate of the virus per 100,000 people out of 84, below the maximum of 307 of October 26.

He also said that the R number is estimated to be between 0.8 and 1.

Professor Philip Nolan said there is a realistic concern that we may see a breeding number of around 1.4 around Christmas, unless we are exceptionally careful to restrict our movements.

He said that an R number between 1.2 and 1.4 during the holiday period would make us have between 300 and 600 cases per day in the second week of January.

Professor Nolan said that if the level of social mixing during Christmas is higher and the R number reaches 2 for a short period between December 22 and January 6, we could see 800 to 1,200 cases per day in mid-December. January.



[ad_2]