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The public have been urged to keep their focus in the battle against the pandemic, with the HSE warning of a potentially \u201cexplosive\u201d impact on healthcare services.<\/p>\nThe public have been urged to keep their focus in the battle against the pandemic, with the HSE warning of a potentially \u201cexplosive\u201d impact on healthcare services.<\/p>\n
Health service boss Paul Reid has raised concerns over whether the public has the level of resilience needed to get through the current wave of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
At an HSE briefing on Thursday, Mr Reid said higher levels of movement have been seen across society, including people going to work and between households.<\/p>\n
He said if there is a loss of focus at this time, there is \u201ca risk to all of us, to all of our families and society\u201d and that this risk could rise to \u201cquite an explosive level\u201d in a short space of time.<\/p>\n
He told the briefing: \u201cA word of caution, because as a health system, we do remain concerned that the public hold or sustain a level of resilience that\u2019s going to be required to get us out the other end of this wave that we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have a lot of concern, seeing certainly a lot higher levels of movement across society. Whether it is to get to work or whether it is to transit, or whether it is to move between households.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing a lot more movement. From a health system (perspective) that does give us a cause of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said there was a long way to go before hospitals return to levels safe enough to resume non-urgent care services which have been suspended because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe risks that we do see from the HSE\u2019s perspective is that, as a society, as a population, we lose focus at this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing focus at this time, we will be losing it when we\u2019re at a base level of the virus that\u2019s still a risk to all of us, all of our families and society.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a risk level that could quickly and ultimately turn, as we know from the past, at quite an explosive level. Particularly if it was to turn at the levels we\u2019re at at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Healthcare workers are \u201cexhausted\u201d, Mr Reid said, but have been given \u201cthe fuel they need in the tank\u201d thanks to the vaccine program.<\/p>\n
Last week 80,000 vaccine doses were administered, with 100,000 expected to be delivered this week, the briefing heard.<\/p>\n
Dr Colm Henry, the Chief Clinical Officer at the HSE, said there is \u201creally positive real world evidence\u201d of the impact vaccines are having.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIf you look at residential care in the week ending February 14, there were 482 lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19 in residential care.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the week ending February 22 there were 91. That\u2019s a very sharp drop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Henry reference a New York Times article which showed an 80 per cent drop in mortality in nursing home settings in the US, which is \u201cbeyond what they\u2019re seeing out in the community\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe reason for that supports this prioritization framework. If you were to vaccinate everybody in this room, you\u2019re unlikely to see a significant reduction in severe disease, because you\u2019re looking at a cohort of people who are relatively low risk in relation to the vaccine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you vaccinate its equal number of people in a residential care setting, you\u2019re much more likely to prevent a serious illness or even mortality, because they\u2019re at much greater risk in that setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trend we\u2019re beginning to see, a drop in reported cases in residential care settings, again is really encouraging.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly supports the early vaccination of this cohort, which now, as we\u2019ve heard, is coming to completion.\u201d<\/p>\n