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The rate of decline in hospitalizations has stagnated although there has been a “significant decrease in pressure on the hospital system” due to the reduction in the number of people receiving treatment for Covid-19, according to HSE CEO Paul Reid.
Reid said that the Executive of the Health Service is “observing with some concern the number of daily cases”, since there are indications that they are no longer reducing at the rate that they had done in previous weeks.
“This is our early warning signal that the brakes have been put on the improvement we have been making in recent weeks.” he said at an HSE briefing.
Reid said that community testing demand has increased by 9% over the past week and more than 101,000 swabs were taken.
He said this is the first time in five weeks that the demand for community testing has increased.
The country still has very high positivity rates and faces a variant that is highly transmissible, he said.
He said the levels of transmission in domestic contacts, and contacts in general, are “really at high levels.”
He said it is “enormously possible” to stop this and turn it in the right direction.
HSE Senior Clinical Chief Dr. Colm Henry said the impact of the vaccination program does not mitigate the dangers of another surge.
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He said at the briefing that more than 620,000 Covid-19 vaccines have already been administered in Ireland.
More than 300 homebound people over the age of 70 were vaccinated last weekend, he said.
The HSE expects to have completed about 240,000 to 250,000 vaccinations in the age group over 70 by the end of the vaccination cycle next week.
Meanwhile, HSE COO Anne O’Connor said the number of staff unavailable for work due to Covid is now very small.
He said the level of non-Covid activity is increasing again and said there is a plan for a safe return to non-Covid services.
AstraZeneca decision
At the lull in the AstraZeneca vaccine launch, Mr. Reid said that the HSE will “respond quickly” to any decision that is recommended after the outcome of the EMA’s safety review.
He said that while there was frustration over the decision to temporarily pause the deployment, “it shows the enormous emphasis that continues to be placed on the safety of the population.”
Paul Reid said it will take a “period of days” to resume administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine if HSE receives an order to do so.
Mr. Reid said this will involve rescheduling and contacting people from Cohort 4, who had been planned to be vaccinated this week, as well as “restocking” some locations.
He said that if AstraZeneca is given the green light again, their first approach would be to “capture the 5,000 that we had planned to do out of 10,000” last week, and that they had another 20,000 planned for this week.
He said he’s reluctant to put numbers on anything until they know for sure what’s going on.
Dr Colm Henry said clotting events have been reported to the Health Products Regulatory Authority, but “we have not had any of the unusual clotting events that led to this hiatus after the reports from Norway.”
Dr. Henry said the cases are under investigation, but “none of an unusual kind” and none are “cause for concern,” he said.
“We have had a series of clotting events, where there has been no link in terms of cause and effect of those vaccines. They may have been a coincidence, but they are under investigation.
“In any population-based screening program, other things will happen that will happen anyway in unvaccinated people: illness, hospitalization and even death.”
“There have been a number of clotting cases and none of the unusual types, and it is hoped, with this heightened sense of awareness, that there will be better reports on them to the HPRA. They will investigate them and let us know if there are any. Any reason for concern, and none have been raised to date. “
Dr. Henry said vaccine vacillation would be a “concern,” but said it is important for health authorities to inform people of the “enormous benefits of preventing serious disease, even after the first dose of all vaccines. “.
He said it is important for health authorities to communicate “a sense of perspective after this signal.”
“It involved a small number of people with an unusual side effect,” he said.
If the EMA gives AstraZeneca the green light, David Walsh of the vaccination program said the intention is to restart vaccinations for frontline healthcare workers and for those in Cohort 4, people ages 18 to 69 with high medical conditions. risk.
Vaccine supply
Reid said the HSE continues to expect Ireland to receive one million vaccinations a month in the second quarter.
He said that is when most vaccination centers will be used to “reach more population.”
He said Johnson & Johnson’s “supply and committed schedule for April, May, June and July have yet to be developed and finalized.” He added: “We hope to get something in July, but we haven’t finished the second quarter yet.”
Reid was asked to confirm whether the majority of Johnson & Johnson’s 600,000 vaccines would arrive in June and July, as reported over the weekend in an article quoting Professor Brian MacCraith, chairman of the Covid high-level task force. -19.
He said 2.2 million doses have been committed for the year by the company.
Reid said guarantees have been sought to ensure AstraZeneca vaccines are delivered as planned.
He said the HSE is due to receive its largest delivery to date on March 29. “We hope that those deliveries will be made,” he added.
Impact of vaccines
HSE Senior Clinical Chief Dr Colm Henry said international data shows that after two doses of an mRNA vaccine, there is an 80% reduction in the risk of asymptomatic Covid compared to those who have not been vaccinated. .
He said that more than 50% of transmission cases come from people who have an asymptomatic disease.
Dr. Henry said there has been a significant drop in hospital-acquired Covid, which he said can provide “a great boost” of the vaccination program.
He said that many hospitals do not report cases of Covid-19 acquired in the hospital in recent weeks in health workers.
“It is reassuring for the safety of hospitals and it is one of the first benefits of the vaccination program that certainly justifies prioritizing this group.”
He said there have been 381 Covid-confirmed deaths related to outbreaks in acute care hospitals since Nov. 22, mostly in older people.
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