Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said “Covid is not going to go away anytime soon” as the State recorded a further 1,963 new infections the day before children return to school from the Halloween break.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) announced 1,963 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, while 500 people are in hospital with the virus, of which 93 are in intensive care.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is likely to make a decision “in a number of weeks’ time” in relation to vaccinating children, Mr Martin said on Sunday.
Following a decision by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States to approve the Covid-19 vaccine for children, he expected a decision soon by the EMA and that would give national authorities the opportunity “to give consideration to that aspect of the vaccination programme”.
Speaking at his party’s annual Wolfe Tone commemoration in Bodenstown Mr Martin also recommended to parents as schools return on Monday that “if your children are symptomatic, keep your child at home”.
He also said that “over time” the use of vaccine boosters would be widened.
“It seems to me as I said before in terms of the European perspective is that over time vaccines will be used in respect of Covid regularly, so I think we can look forward to the expansion of boosters, subject to the advice from the clinical.”
He also said “the other side is the therapeutics. There’s more progress being made on how to treat Covid and that’s positive and the more authorisations we see of newer medicines, I think that will help us in our battle against Covid.
“Covid is not going to go away anytime soon. What will change is our capacity to deal with it through vaccination, through better medicine, through sensible behaviour.”
Holohan’s advice
Meanwhile, State chief medical officer Tony Holohan said he is conscious that parents and guardians will be concerned about the high level of virus incidence among the five to 12 age group, particularly as children head back to school on Monday after the mid-term.
“I want to reassure you that, as winter approaches, Nphet continues to monitor the level of incidence of the disease . . . and and to update our advice accordingly.
"International evidence tells us that, in the vast majority of cases, children who become infected with Covid-19 experience mild symptoms or are asymptomatic. The public health advice is based on scientific evidence and the direct experience of the pandemic in Ireland. It shows that child-to-child transmission is uncommon in school settings where there are preventive measures in place like those throughout our schools."
Dr Holohan urged people to continue washing hands, covering coughs, wearing masks and staying home when they have symptoms. He added that when planning social occasions, please keep the public health advice at the centre of what you do.
Niac to meet
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) will meet on Monday to discuss booster vaccines for healthcare workers.
Healthcare unions seeking booster doses for their members have written to Niac, which is tasked with providing advice on the provision of further vaccines, asking whether it would “take responsibility” for the risk faced by its members.
Coalition sources expect the outcome of Niac’s Monday meeting will be an expansion of the programme.
Booster shots for people over 60 years of age will begin in the Republic this week.
Up until now, boosters have been provided to three groups only: over-80s; people in residential care aged over 65; and those who may be immunocompromised. So far, more than 100,000 boosters have been administered.
The chief clinical officer with the HSE, Colm Henry, said Ireland should "progress quickly" on the issue of booster shots for healthcare workers.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One, Dr Henry said healthcare workers needed booster shots "to protect them and . . . patients in what will be a very difficult winter".
Some 3,500 healthcare staff have been out on coronavirus-related illness, he said. He added that the “loss of staff isn’t just bad for staff who are sick, or close contacts, but it’s also bad for [delivery of] services”, he said.
Asked whether hospitals are under pressure with rising case numbers, Dr Henry replied: “We are under pressure, there’s no doubt about it.”
Despite high levels of vaccinations, there were “still people out there who aren’t vaccinated who are every bit more at risk. So cases are going up,” he said.
“What is somewhat reassuring is that the conversion of those cases to harm is blunted . . . We’re seeing half the level of conversion we saw in previous surges. That’s because vaccines offer great protection against serious illness. They do not afford significant protection against transmission,” he said.
There had also been higher levels of vaccine uptake in pregnant women recently, said Dr Henry.
What about schools?
Also speaking on RTÉ Radio one, Minister for Education Norma Foley said children should not be sent to school tomorrow if they have symptoms of Covid-19.
Any resumption of routine contact tracing of children in schools where there have been cases and the possibility of using antigen testing for pupils who are close contacts are matters for the National Public Health Emergency Team to consider, said Ms Foley.
She said the Government would implement any advice it offers on both issues.
There has been an increase in the number of cases of the virus in the five to 12-year-old age group who have not been vaccinated.
The Government has insisted that schools will reopen after the mid-term break as planned on Monday.
Many virus symptoms are similar to a head cold and Ms Foley was asked if she had advice for parents considering whether or not to send their child to school given the time of the year and the prevalence of runny noses and colds.
She replied: “I appreciate the dilemma and the difficulty for parents and guardians but we are being very clearly advised by the CMO [chief medical officer Tony Holohan] and by public health that if there is any question of any symptoms then a child should be kept at home.”
Northern Ireland
Elsewhere, remaining restrictions are set to be lifted in Northern Ireland on Sunday, with nightclubs to reopen and social distancing rules in hospitality settings removed.
Late bars and nightclubs have already reopened across the Republic and the United Kingdom but in Northern Ireland, a 1m social-distancing rule remained in place, which prevented nightclubs from reopening their doors. Now that rule will be scrapped and nightclubs will reopen.
Customers will not have to wear face coverings when they are eating, drinking or dancing. While vaccine passports have not been made mandatory, people have been told that they should expect to be asked for them.
