Hospital numbers could increase at a 'significant pace' as Covid cases rise

While the community positivity rate reduced from 8.4% on Friday to 6.7% on Saturday, Paul Reid says the rise in case numbers could put hospitals under pressure. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

The CEO of the Health Service Executive (HSE) has warned hospital numbers could increase at a "significant pace very quickly" as Covid-19 cases rise.

There were 1,377 new infections confirmed on Saturday up 204 on the previous day, the highest daily figure since the end of January.

Almost 65% of Irish people are fully vaccinated, with 77% having received at least one jab.

While the community positivity rate reduced from 8.4% on Friday to 6.7% on Saturday, Paul Reid says the rise in case numbers could put hospitals under pressure.

"We're watching very closely now as cases rise in the coming days," he said.

"Thankfully, we are coming off a much lower base in terms of hospitalisations.

"Notwithstanding that, if cases continue to rise that would be what we are watching very closely, the hospitalizations will increase at a significant pace very quickly."

A bumpy journey for the next few weeks in terms of #Delta. Thankfully community positivity from testing reduced yesterday from 8.4% to 6.7%. Now 77% of people partially vaccinated and almost 64% fully. A white knucle ride of vaccines versus Delta but let's get there. @HSELive

— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) July 18, 2021

60% of Irish adults fully vaccinated as rollout hits a 'major milestone'

Ireland’s vaccine rollout has hit a major milestone with over 60% of the adult population now fully vaccinated, the chair of the vaccine taskforce has said.

From Monday this will ramp up further with people aged 18 to 24 able to opt in for an Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine if they do not wish to wait for a different vaccine.

So far over 75% of adults have received at least one dose of any vaccine with just over 5.1m vaccine doses given across mass vaccination centres, GPs' practices and in pharmacies.

The HSE expects to finish administering second doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines this weekend for people in their 60s. Vaccination also continues for vulnerable people who are at very high or high risk from the virus.

Chair of the high-level task force on Covid-19 vaccination Professor Brian MacCraith described Friday as: “a very significant day in the vaccine rollout with three major milestones reached”.

So far over 75% of adults have received at least one dose of any vaccine with just over 5.1m vaccine doses given across mass vaccination centres, GPs' practices and in pharmacies. This includes over 100,000 doses given at the City Hall vaccination centre in Cork. 

Prof MacCraith said this shows important progress but there is still much to achieve in the rollout, he said.

Immunologists have previously estimated Ireland would need to vaccinate at least 80% of the adult population to achieve herd immunity and protection.

Friday saw the vaccine portal open to those aged 25 or older. Over 25s can register to receive a Pfizer/ BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. These are mRNA type vaccines.

Currently, the wait between registration and getting a jab with one of these mRNA vaccines is “three to four weeks”.

This option will open to younger people soon the HSE has said.

However, people aged 18 to 24 can choose the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine option from Monday through the portal.

Head of the Vaccine Taskforce, Professor Brian MacCraith. File icture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Opting in could mean getting a first dose this month, instead of waiting until August. Studies from the UK have shown both vaccines offer over 90% protection against the Delta variant after two doses.

The HSE has advised: “If you do not opt in, you will automatically get a Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.” Those aged 18 to 34 can also opt for the Janssen vaccine through a pharmacy as can the over-50s.

However, on Saturday secretary-general of the Irish Pharmacy Union Darragh O’Loughlin said he expects a dip in supplies for the remainder of July. Deliveries of the Janssen vaccine are expected to increase again from early August, he told Newstalk.

The HSE website provides information on the potential risks of experiencing a rare type of blood clot after taking the Oxford/ AstraZeneca or Janssen vaccines for under-50s which everyone is advised to read.

Supplies of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine remain the strongest with 3.3m doses given, followed by Oxford/AstraZeneca at 1.1m doses and Moderna at 461,540 doses given.

The single-shot Janssen vaccine was given to 149,514 people up to Friday.

Globally, the Our World in Data tracker shows 26.1% of the world population has received at least one vaccine dose. However this drops to only 1% of people in low-income countries, it found.

In total, 3.61 billion doses have been administered globally with 30.46 million now being given daily.

The demand for Covid-19 testing is rapidly increasing around the country, with community test centres doing a record 15,000 tests on Friday.

HSE National Lead for Testing and Tracing Niamh O’ Beirne said on Saturday: “Yesterday was the busiest day so far in this wave for our community testing centres.” She said Saturday “remains busy” especially in the Dublin area.

Ms O’ Beirne said the HSE is making additional test-slots available for online booking in order to meet the demand.

This means more people do not have to wait for a GP appointment but can self-refer if they suspect they might have Covid-19.