[ad_1]
The chairman of the Epidemiology and Public Health section of the Royal Society of Medicine, Dr Gabriel Scally, has said that there is a real concern that if a new strain of Covid-19 discovered in mink in Denmark becomes dominant, much of the work done to date with vaccines. it will be “in vain” and its effectiveness will be reduced.
Dr Scally said that he personally believes that travel to and from Denmark should be restricted until the outbreak is completely under control and some sort of isolation system administered in the UK and Ireland needs to be introduced because self-isolation is not working well .
He said he has seen no evidence that the new strain is a more cruel version of the coronavirus, but its potential ripple effect on vaccine production could be significant and protecting this program is the main concern.
Over the weekend, the Transport Minister confirmed that anyone arriving in Ireland from Denmark will have to restrict their movements for 14 days due to concerns about the mutated strain of Covid-19 in mink that has spread to humans.
Eamon Ryan said there will be no tailored exemptions, even for people traveling for essential purposes.
The British government has introduced an immediate ban on visitors to Denmark, with exemptions for British citizens or residents who will have to isolate themselves for two weeks along with all members of their household.
Minister Ryan said there are currently no plans to implement a similar ban in Ireland.
There are currently three mink farms operating here, but no mink were imported this year.
Denmark and the United States are among six countries that have reported new coronavirus cases related to mink farms, the World Health Organization said.
Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden are the other nations that have discovered SARS-CoV-2 in mink, the WHO said in a statement.
Denmark imposed strict measures in the north of the country after warning that a mutation of the virus had jumped from minks to humans and infected 12 people.
Latest coronavirus stories
On RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne this morning, Dr. Scally urged as many people as possible to get a flu shot this year.
Dr Gabriel Scally said antigen tests are worth trying and there is no better place to test them than Liverpool, which “has a tremendous public health record.”
Although he said the tests are not as accurate in terms of giving the correct answer every time, they are a good tool when carried out on a large scale.
Dr. Scally said Christmas will pose great difficulties this year because the virus has not gone away and is traditionally a time of year when people travel home.
This, he said, will certainly cause some problems.
He added that while the latest restrictions have been effective in lowering the numbers, it will be a really difficult period to monitor and the best way to do that is to make sure everyone “owns the guidelines” and sticks to social distancing.
Dr Scally reiterated his call for an integrated Covid-19 response across the island of Ireland and said that we would be in a better state if Northern Ireland and the Republic had worked together.
Meanwhile, there are 291 confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospitals, according to the latest figures.
Of these, 40 are in intensive care. The hospitals with the highest number of patients are: Tallaght University Hospital with 36, University Hospital Limerick with 34 and Naas General Hospital with 32.
It comes as a Monaghan GP has said that it is “unacceptable” for GPs across the country to have to choose which patients will get a flu shot due to the shortage.
Also speaking on Today with Claire Byrne, Dr. Illona Duffy said she had to cancel a series of reservations at her office because they didn’t get enough vaccinations.
He said they only receive vaccinations every fortnight and the number they have received so far is “unacceptable.”
His latest delivery only contained 50 vaccines, he said, despite an attempt to order hundreds.
“We know from talking to them that all GPs and pharmacies are struggling to get vaccines,” said Dr. Duffy.
“The HSE told us that this year they had ordered more vaccines. They had to increase it to 1.4 million injectable vaccines instead of 1.1 million, but we just don’t know where this vaccine is going.”
Dr. Duffy said her practice has patients over the age of 65 who normally receive the flu vaccine every year, but this year these patients are being asked if they have other health problems.
Dr. Duffy said that many patients she has to turn her back on are “really unhappy and very anxious” and many feel it is the GPs’ fault to “use up” all of their supplies.
“They don’t understand that we are just not getting the vaccines,” he said.
“It doesn’t help that there are ads on the radio and in the newspapers telling people to get their vaccine when, sadly, it is not available to either the GPs or our pharmacy colleagues.”
Dr. Duffy said that, on the other hand, they will keep a large amount of the children’s flu vaccine due to lack of acceptance.
He said the children’s vaccine is given free of charge in UK schools, and he thinks it works well.
“We know from UK data that uptake is much better when done in schools,” he said. “It’s easier, it’s done in an organized way, parents don’t bother, they don’t have to take time off from work.”
Dr. Duffy said they have tried to boost acceptance here by running Sunday clinics, outdoor clinics and self-service clinics, but their fear is that they have wasted a “great deal of money” and many of the vaccines will expire in January. .
The childhood vaccine is not effective for adults, he added.
[ad_2]