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A total of 121,900 Covid-19 vaccines have been provided in the state to date and there are signs the third wave of the disease is bottoming out, HSE officials said.
The total number of vaccinated is equivalent to about 2.5% of the population, with some 48,000 doses administered to people living and working in more than 200 long-term care facilities. In addition, 73,100 vaccines were provided to health workers in seven hospital groups.
Residents of 589 long-term care facilities are expected to have received their first vaccination on Sunday, according to an HSE press briefing heard on Thursday.
Paul Reid, the managing director of HSE, criticized the fact that people who were not supposed to get the vaccine did so at Coombe and Rotunda hospitals in Dublin and another in Co Kerry.
“It shouldn’t have happened. No one needs more clarity on the agreed sequencing of vaccines, ”he said. “That being said, vaccine wastage is something we should avoid. “
A document released on January 12 had clarified how vaccinations were to be performed, while HSE clinical director Dr Colm Henry sent a letter to hospitals about it, he said.
Mr Reid warned that the number of people released next week would not be as high as expected as maker Pfizer temporarily lowered production levels. He said the delay was temporary but was a cause of “great frustration” for the HSE.
He said that by the end of February, all healthcare workers will have received their first dose and many will have received their second dose.
“There are a lot of things we should be extremely positive about,” she said.
Source of concern
The greatest source of concern for the HSE, Mr Reid said, was the strain on the hospital system due to the number of people currently with Covid-19. He said the number of hospitals with the disease rose 10% this week, to 1,949 on Thursday morning.
There were 214 people in intensive care units (ICUs) treated for Covid-19 out of the 320 people currently in intensive care in the state. Three are in intensive care in private hospitals under a surge deal.
About 300 people outside of intensive care are receiving advanced respiratory support, which Reid said was “a very large number.”
“Everyone is receiving the highest level of care, but our concerns are about increasing numbers. We don’t want to see the growing numbers rise so high that we lose control, ”he said.
Mr Reid said the current death rate was a “stark and horrifying reminder” of the depth of the impacts of the current wave of Covid-19. There have been more than 500 deaths so far in January.
Dr Henry said there were signs the third wave was bottoming out. The five-day average of new cases has dropped from 4,500 a day a week ago to 2,555 a day now. Likewise, the 14-day case average fell from 1,449 a week ago to 1,223 per day.
The average daily number of hospital admissions over the past seven days was 132. Of the 211 Covid-19 patients in intensive care beds, more than half are ventilated.
Dr Henry warned that the vaccine will have “no significant impact” on the current outbreak. It found that vaccine acceptance is the second highest in the EU after Malta, with 37% of Irish adults saying they would like to receive the vaccine as soon as possible against the EU average of 23%. Only 8 percent of respondents were opposed to receiving the vaccine, which is less than half of the European average of 17 percent.
Anniversary
The HSE has said January 27 will be the first anniversary of the HSE’s Covid-19 crisis management team. They were then preparing for a virus deemed “at moderate risk” by the European Center for Disease Control.
“No one at this point could have predicted that we were going to experience a third wave and the worst effects of the effects of the virus this year,” Mr Reid said.
“There has been tremendous suffering and suffering for so many families and especially not being able to cry like people used to.
“Looks like we’re stuck in a stalemate, but we’re not… It may take a little longer than we want (to get everyone vaccinated) and it’s only supply-based. We will operate to the beat.
“We have to stick with the very difficult changes that we have, but we know there will be a better year to come at some point. We must be absolutely relentless in protecting ourselves and others, ”he said.
Epidemics
There are currently 480 outbreaks in nursing homes and hospitals, 166 of which are in nursing homes.
That means there are currently outbreaks in 29% of all nursing homes, up from 20% on January 11. There are currently 362 outbreaks in long-term care facilities, including mental health and disability services.
HSE’s director of operations Anne O’Connor said the outbreaks were “drastic and significant” compared to previous waves of the virus.
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