[ad_1]
Public health officials have offered the prospect of a “vaccine voucher” in the near future, as disease incidence declines and vaccination coverage increases.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is looking at what changes need to be made in recognition of broader vaccination, said Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn, and his advice will be given to the government in the context of the upcoming easing. of the restrictions.
“I am hopeful that in the next few weeks we will start to be able to tell people what the vaccination bonus is and what it can and cannot do,” said Dr. Glynn.
“We have vaccines, the vast majority of people in nursing homes have been vaccinated. Hopefully there will be a vaccine bonus for people in the next time. “
On Thursday, it will specifically consider what changes need to be made to visiting arrangements for nursing homes now that the sector is fully vaccinated.
Nphet reported no further Covid-19 patient deaths on Monday. This leaves the total number of deaths in the pandemic at 4,422.
Nphet reported 437 confirmed cases of the disease.
Of the new cases, 184 were in Dublin, 31 in Limerick, 26 in Donegal, 20 in Galway and 18 in Offaly, with the remaining 158 cases spread across all other counties.
The mean age of the cases was 34 years and 71% were under 45 years of age.
The 14-day incidence of the disease is now 167 cases per 100,000 people nationwide. Longford has the highest incidence in the county, followed by Offaly. Kilkenny has the lowest incidence
When asked why Longford and Offaly have the highest incidences of Covid-19 in the counties, Dr. Glynn cited a number of outbreaks in the workplace in the Midlands and also outbreaks among travelers from the region. There were 19 outbreaks in the workplace nationwide last week.
But he noted that some of the outbreaks may be “old” and are being recorded now because public health personnel are catching up with them as the overall number of cases declines.
The reduction in infections is accelerating, with the case count falling by an average of around 100 per week and reductions in incidence across all age groups, according to Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Epidemiological Models Advisory Group of Nphet.
However, Ireland remained on a “precarious path” and needs to ensure a continued drop in the number of cases during March for the possibility of another wave to diminish, Dr. Glynn said.
Compliance with public health measures remains very high, according to Dr. Glynn, who cautioned that hope for improvement should not give way to complacency. The fact that mobility among the population is increasing is “a cause for concern”.
“Across Europe, countries are seeing a deteriorating outlook and the incidence of our own disease remains high – we must do everything we can to continue to suppress this virus and ensure that as many people as possible benefit from vaccination in the next few months”.
Dr. Cliona Murphy, president of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, warned of misinformation on social media about the risk associated with taking Covid-19 vaccines and its impact on fertility.
“There is no evidence that taking any of the vaccines affects a woman’s future ability to conceive or continue a pregnancy,” she said.
Dr. Murphy said there is no reason to avoid vaccination among people with a history of miscarriage.
Women planning IVF may choose to wait until they have received both doses before continuing with their scheduled treatment, as it would be beneficial to be fully vaccinated.
When asked about preliminary reports linking Covid-19 infections to four stillbirths, Dr. Murphy said, “It is the opinion of the pathologists conducting these investigations that Covid-19 was the significant factor that resulted in the fetal death of these babies ”.
He said perinatal pathologists were communicating with international colleagues, but “we have to keep an open mind.”
When asked about the possibility of people from the Republic spreading the infection north due to different vaccination rates across the border, Dr. Glynn said it was possible that the two jurisdictions could diverge epidemiologically on the weeks to come, but at the moment they are on a similar path. .
On Monday morning, 418 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized, of which 103 were in the ICU. There were 20 additional hospitalizations in the previous 24 hours.
As of Friday, 513,322 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered in Ireland: 363,601 people in the first dose and 149,721 in the second dose.
Meanwhile, the HSE clinical director has said that he will communicate directly with patients with serious medical conditions to inform them when they will receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
Dr. Colm Henry said Monday that the HSE was working through the hospital network to identify patients with chronic conditions such as cancer, kidney failure and respiratory problems.
Speaking at Newstalk Breakfast, Dr. Henry assured patients with very high-risk medical conditions who are between the ages of 16 and 69 that there was no need to contact their GP or the HSE, and that people would be alerted once make the vaccine available to them.
He noted that there were many diverse conditions included in the category 4 cohort: those aged 16 to 69 with a medical condition that puts them at very high risk of serious illness and death if they contract the virus.
While there have been “some incidents” regarding vaccine deliveries recently, Dr. Henry said he was confident that rescheduled deliveries would take place and that summer deadlines would be met.
HSE Executive Director Paul Reid said Sunday that vaccination of people aged 16 to 69 with serious illnesses would begin this week and that he expected about 10,000 people in this cohort to be vaccinated over the next seven days.
Quarantine
Meanwhile, the commander of the joint task force Operation Fortress, Brigadier General Brendan McGuinness, outlined the role that the Defense Forces will play in the new mandatory quarantine scheme. The system to quarantine passengers arriving in Ireland was enacted on Sunday by President Michael D Higgins and will allow the state to require passengers arriving from 20 countries with a high incidence of Covid-19 to quarantine themselves during 14 days in a designated hotel.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Brigadier General McGuinness said the roles were “still under design” but that the Defense Forces could offer skills in coordination and liaison.
The mandatory quarantine scheme will involve a wide range of state services, government agencies and departments along with civilian contractors, he said. “Our role will revolve around the official liaison role of the State and that will have a role of coordination or connection between the services that the state agencies will provide and some areas provided by private contractors.”
“We will commit to the company that transports the passengers, we will commit to the company that accommodates the passengers and, of course, also with safety. We will have that oversight and connection function between all those services to make sure that hopefully the plan runs smoothly, as required by law. “
Members of the Defense Forces who are “up against Covid” have been vaccinated alongside frontline HSE colleagues, he said.
[ad_2]