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Ireland is still seeing \u201cconcerning\u201d levels of transmission of Covid-19, despite the country being in a \u201cmuch better place\u201d than earlier this year, the head of the health service has said.<\/p>\nIreland is still seeing \u201cconcerning\u201d levels of transmission of Covid-19, despite the country being in a \u201cmuch better place\u201d than earlier this year, the head of the health service has said.<\/p>\n
Paul Reid warned continued vigilance is needed in tandem with the rollout of the State\u2019s Covid-19 vaccination program.<\/p>\n
The HSE chief executive said more than 150,000 vaccinations will be administered next week, but he would not confirm whether they will reach the Government\u2019s target of 250,000.<\/p>\n
Mr Reid said it would all depend on the delivery of supplies of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and the decision by the National Immunization Advisory Committee (Niac) on the use of the J&J vaccine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be over 150,000. That\u2019s what we\u2019re targeting, but I can\u2019t give specifics,\u201d he told the HSE weekly Covid-19 update briefing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will hugely depend on the Niac decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Reid added: \u201cIt\u2019s going to be over 150,000. I can\u2019t give you a definitive number but it will be our best week yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Wednesday Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin said the target of administering 250,000 doses of vaccine weekly from next week had not changed.<\/p>\n
Niac is due to make a decision next week on the use of the J&J vaccine after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of unusual blood clotting as a very rare side-effect.<\/p>\n
T\u00e1naiste Leo Varadkar has urged Niac to allow the J&J jab to be given to people under the age of 60.<\/p>\n
Last week Niac ruled that the under-60s should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a similar rare blood clotting issue.<\/p>\n
The HSE chief executive said 176 people with Covid-19 were in hospital on Thursday, down from 2,020 at the peak of the third wave.<\/p>\n
Mr Reid said there were now fewer people in hospital with the virus than there was in intensive care units alone in January.<\/p>\n
There were 47 people in ICU with the disease on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Last week more than 106,000 lab tests were completed with a positivity rate of 2.7 per cent.<\/p>\n
The average number of close contacts per person was 3.3.<\/p>\n
A total of 338 swabs were completed on hotel quarantine staff and some 1,355 tests were completed on quarantined residents.<\/p>\n
A total of 29 positive cases were detected overall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to see many improvements and signs in many of the key measures including a reduction in the 14-day incidence rate compared to the previous week by 14 per cent,\u201d Mr Reid said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving said all of that we are still seeing concerning levels of transmission across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe continued vigilance of the public is still needed in tandem with the vaccination program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Reid said a total of 148,000 people aged between 65 and 69 had registered for the Covid-19 vaccine through the online portal since last week.<\/p>\n
People aged between 60 and 64 will be able to register online for a Covid-19 vaccination from Friday.<\/p>\n
On Thursday morning Professor Sam McConkey said the J&J vaccine would be \u201cvery useful\u201d in the rollout of the vaccination program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m delighted the EMA has said \u2018give it a license\u2019. It is licensed to sell here and I hope it is a substantial part of our national plan to get us out of Covid-19, and hopefully we can get a supply of it,\u201d he told Newstalk Breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look at the small risk of clots\u2026 people have bandied around one in a million, but when we see the data from the US, that\u2019s sort of exactly where it\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said if the risk of severe illness or death from the virus is weighed up against the risk of severe side-effects, it differs depending on the person\u2019s age.<\/p>\n
Prof McConkey said there is almost an \u201cequal risk-benefit\u201d from taking the vaccine for people aged around 20.<\/p>\n
But he added that for those aged 25-30 there is \u201cclearly a substantial benefit\u201d from having the vaccine.<\/p>\n