Lack of PCR testing means 'an awful lot of infection' being missed, says virologist
Infectious diseases consultant Eoghan de Barra said the true level of infection remains unclear due to the low levels of testing adding that testing may need to be scaled up as we head into winter. Picture: Damian Coleman
The number of people in hospital with Covid has dropped by almost a quarter in just over a week, but there are fears the true level of infection in the community is unclear because of low testing levels.
Latest figures show 815 patients with the virus are receiving treatment in hospital, down 23% on a recent peak of 1,055 recorded on July 11.
On Tuesday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the country had passed the peak of the summer wave.
Infectious diseases consultant at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin Eoghan de Barra said he was hopeful that was the case.
"With any of the waves, we really only know when we have a consistent fall in the numbers and as we know, at the moment, we don't have anything like the level of surveillance we had in the past to be really sure but I would certainly be optimistic," said Mr de Barra.
He said the true level of infection remains unclear due to the low levels of testing — adding testing may need to be scaled up as we head into winter.
"I don't think we suddenly need to have a change in that strategy but we need to have the ability to change because these variants haven't posed a huge threat with our vaccinated population but if that were to change then we would need to have the ability to turn those testing systems back on.
"We need to have surveillance systems that mean we know and can predict what is going to happen."
Looking ahead to the autumn, the health minister has said the Government was preparing for "a very significant flu season".
Stephen Donnelly said they were expecting an upsurge in both flu and Covid-19, and have been coordinating with the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) and the chief medical officer on plans.
It comes as Australia is currently experiencing a record number of cases, signaling a post-pandemic flu revival.
Mr Donnelly says they expect infection to return, as people return indoors.
Meanwhile, a website has been launched aimed at inspiring confidence in vaccines and counteracting vaccine misinformation and disinformation.
Science Foundation Ireland has teamed up with academics from DCU for the About Vaccines site, which contains information on common myths and untruths around the Covid vaccine and other jabs.
"Unfortunately, false information has always existed, but online platforms, in particular, provide fertile ground for vaccine myths and untruths to take hold," said Dr Eileen Culloty, who led the Voices for Vaccines project.
Parents and guardians in Dublin's inner city and north county Dublin volunteered as part of the project to help make the information easy to understand and inclusive for all.
These areas were chosen because there has been a decline in vaccine uptake and were identified as areas where there could potentially be barriers to accessing correct information.
Lecturer in health communication at DCU Barbara Gormley said it was important to get parents on board with the campaign.
A Montessori owner who took part in the anonymous study said the topic of vaccination comes up often when dealing with parents.
"We don’t judge, we just listen. This website will be so helpful for me and my staff as we will be able to direct them easily to the right information that addresses their questions," she said.
"The fact that the ‘For Parents’ webpage can be downloaded and is translated into different languages is so convenient and makes sense as we have a diverse group of parents and this information addresses their concerns."
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