Vaccines for young children to arrive within two weeks as Nphet considers more restrictions
Pupils wearing face mask coverings during lessons in the classroom at Ballintemple National School, Crab Lane, Cork. Covid-19 coronavirus global pandemic.
The move comes as public health officials will consider new restrictions today to get the virus under control over the Christmas period.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) meet today to discuss whether to recommend further curbs, but a strict lockdown is not expected to be proposed.
Vaccines for children, aged 5 to 11, could now be delivered to Ireland by December 13, a week earlier than expected. The first group of children could then be vaccinated within a matter of days.
However, this will depend on formal sign-off from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC), which has yet to make a recommendation following last week’s approval by the European Medicines Agency for the jab to be given to under-12s.
The HSE is already planning the logistics around vaccinating thousands of children as quickly as possible after the first doses arrive in Ireland and an online information campaign will be rolled out to ensure parents are fully informed.
Given that a three-week interval between doses is now advised, the first children in this age group could receive their second shot as early as mid-January.
The acceleration of the vaccine rollout for 5- to 11-year-olds comes after a day of confusion for schools and parents as the Education Minister failed to fully clarify the exemptions on mask-wearing.
From yesterday, children over the age of nine or in third class are required to wear masks in school, on public transport, or in retail settings.
Norma Foley said the rules would have to be implemented — but that there will be some “latitude” in the coming days, as schools start to deal with the new requirements.
There were fiery exchanges in the Dáil when the opposition sought clarity on the new regulations.
Facing questioning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the requirement for primary school children to wear masks is not a rule he is “entirely 100% comfortable with”.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said it is seeking further guidance from the Department of Education on the “appropriate” procedure when parents continuously refuse to provide their child with a face covering, or if a student continuously refuses to wear one.
In a circular issued to principals late on Tuesday evening, schools were told that students who do not wear a face covering, and who can not provide a medical cert, will be refused entry to school.
In an FAQ to its members, the INTO said that when parents refuse to provide their child with a mask, schools should first engage with them to explain the new requirements.
If a student refuses to wear a mask at school, a school should “engage with the pupil and explain the requirements for the use of face coverings”, as well as with their parents.
Schools are advised that a “common-sense approach” should be taken in terms of removing face coverings for break time or for eating lunch.
The regulations on masks come as new data shows that primary school-age children continue to have the highest incidence rate of Covid-19 of any age group.
The incidence rate for children between the age of five and 12 now stands at 1,107.5, amounting to more than 6,000 positive cases confirmed up until last Saturday.
In contrast, at the end of September, the incidence rate for children in this age group stood at 247.1.
The figures are contained in the weekly report on the epidemiology of Covid-19 published by the HPSC yesterday.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he was "sceptical" about bringing in any new restrictions ahead of today's Nphet meeting.
He told last night's Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting that the Covid situation was stable or improving slightly, so he did not believe the introduction of new restrictions was needed.
He warned, however, that the numbers have stabilised at a high level and "if things went wrong" in the run-up to Christmas, they "would go wrong from a very high base".
Both Mr Varadkar and Taoiseach Micheál Martin were challenged at their respective party meetings on the cut to the employment wage subsidy scheme (EWSS).
Four TDs signed a motion asking Mr Martin to reverse the cut due to the impact public health messaging is having on hospitality.
The Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe both signalled that the situation was being reviewed ahead of Nphet's advice on Thursday.
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