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It is “too early” to know if the new strain of the coronavirus, confirmed in Britain, has emerged in Ireland, said Dr. Ronan Glynn.
The deputy chief medical officer said Irish authorities only received a formal notification of the new strain on Monday, at the same time the UK government publicly announced news of the new strain of the virus.
“We receive formal notification of that variant through our official early warning system with European colleagues and the UK, and there is very little information available to us at this time,” said Dr Glynn.
“And there is more epidemiological and virological research from colleagues in the UK.
“Obviously, we will be interested in the potential effects of this variant in terms of transmission, but at this stage it is too early to say whether or not it has such effects.”
“We really need to wait for more information to come out. It is too early at this stage to say if the variant has been seen in this country,” he added.
Speaking as two more Covid-19-related deaths were confirmed here, Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said Nphet will meet on Thursday as numbers rise, but gave no indication that he would likely recommend not changing the plan. to relax Friday travel restrictions.
“We have a standard agenda and we are analyzing whether the measures are working. We always do that. A simple agenda. If concerns arise, we will address them in the usual way, ”said Dr. Holohan.
Dr Holohan confirmed that Ireland still has the lowest 7-day incidence in Europe and also the lowest 14-day incidence rate of any place in Europe.
At the briefing, Lorraine Nolan, executive director of the Health Products Regulatory Authority, the Irish regulator for some of the vaccines, said that despite the rapid path to a vaccine, there has or will not be a reduction in safety standards.
“It is important to emphasize that this will not compromise the detailed and comprehensive nature of scientific scrutiny. There will be no lowering of the bar on this.
“All vaccine applications will be reviewed with the same care and rigor as for any other drug.
“We will be guided by evidence and by science, and that is the backbone of the regulatory system,” he said.
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