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The HSE clinical director has said that Covid-19 has all but disappeared as a serious illness in nursing homes and residential centers as the impact of the vaccination program is observed across the country.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr. Colm Henry also said that the number of healthcare personnel testing positive has collapsed.
He said 1,000 healthcare staff tested positive in the week ending January 17 and this was down to fewer than 45 testing positive in the week ending February 28.
Dr. Henry said that the country is beginning to see the real impacts of the vaccination program in the most vulnerable and in terms of the most serious manifestation of the disease among this population.
He said there were some problems with the launch of the vaccines in the third week to more than 85 years, and the HSE is working closely with GPs to ensure these problems do not recur.
The Minister of Children, Roderic O’Gorman, said that the government will have to “adapt” the reduction of restrictions depending on the degree of population that has been vaccinated.
Speaking about the same program, he said that while real progress has been made, the vaccination program is a key element in ensuring Tier 5 measures are lowered.
O’Gorman also said it is “deeply frustrating” that the commitments made by pharmaceutical companies regarding the supply of vaccines are not being honored.
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Meanwhile, the HSE has reported a further reduction in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in hospitals.
Last night, there were 371 patients with the disease in the hospital, a reduction of 26 cases from the previous day’s figures.
Compared to a week ago, the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 has dropped by more than 100.
There are 14 hospitals reporting eight or fewer Covid-19 patients in their care.
The number of patients in intensive care is also slowly declining, with 93 in intensive care units last night.
HSE Executive Director Paul Reid said the impact of the vaccine launch is being seen, with deaths, infections and low transmission levels, along with the number of hospitalizations and ICU patients.
So far, big signs of the impact of vaccines. Serial tests in nursing homes with 0.2% positivity. The percentages of cases in health workers are reduced from 16% to 4%. The levels of mortality, infections and transmissions, as well as hospitalizations and ICUs, are falling. @HSELive # COVID-19
– Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) March 10, 2021
The downward trend is also reflected in daily Covid-19 case numbers, with 311 cases reported yesterday, the lowest daily figure since mid-December.
Another 30 deaths related to the virus were reported, of which 12 occurred this month, 13 in February and four in January. One death remains under review.
There have now been 4,452 Covid-related deaths in Ireland since the pandemic started here more than a year ago.
The Health Department has said that as of March 6, 523,069 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered in Ireland, with 9,747 doses administered on Saturday.
Additional reports Fergal Bowers
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