Holohan awarded honorary fellowship for pandemic work 

Dr Tony Holohan receiving an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in recognition of his outstanding leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Picture: Julien Behal

Ireland is on track to have one of the highest uptakes of the Covid-19 vaccine in the world, the State’s chief medical officer has said.

Dr Tony Holohan paid tribute to the efforts of the public in battling the virus, as he was awarded an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) to mark his leadership during the pandemic.

“The people of Ireland have effectively and consistently responded to our public health advice. They have stayed home, worn masks, washed hands and kept social distance when we asked,” he said.

It’s easy to forget that we have remarkable levels of compliance from the vast majority of people right from the outset of this pandemic. 

"It is only through such high compliance that we have been able to keep transmission levels suppressed and to minimise the impact of the disease on public health.” 

He added: “We’re seeing this now in the encouraging high uptake of vaccination, which is on track to become the highest in the world.” 

Dr Holohan said he was honoured to be given the award and was accepting it on behalf of all health workers, who have been on the frontline fighting against this disease.

“Those of us in public health have planned and prepared for major public health emergencies, we could never have predicted we would be confronted in such a fundamental way, with every facet of our lives impacted and with our most basic assumptions about how we live modern life tested to breaking point," he added.

Healthcare workers have carried out "exemplary public service," he said, acknowledging the fear facing the disease must have brought.

While the vaccination now offers protection, the reality of the service must be one of exhaustion from sustained effort, frustration at the mounting challenges from non-Covid-related health issues and from the long-term implications of Covid."

RCSI president Professor Ronan O’Connell said Dr Holohan’s contribution to Irish healthcare long predates the pandemic, yet it will be his legacy.

“Putting public health first, Dr Holohan has been transparent from the start, providing clear information which inspired trust and cohesion among a great majority of Irish people."