Aoife Moore: Parties hoping for vaccine bounce, but their bubble is about to burst

We have been granted the tiniest of freedoms this week, being allowed travel beyond our 5km. Amid doubts over various vaccines, though, how can we believe any promises being made for summer?

A member of the public passing street art on Chatham Row, Dublin, during the level 5 lockdown. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Better days are coming, we’re told, but it’s hard to see through the misery.

There are reasons for hope, no doubt, as we heard at the Oireachtas health committee yesterday that, as of April 11, the 14-day incidence rate decreased to 132 per 100,000 population, a reduction of 15% from the previous week. The five-day moving average of new cases reduced to 404, a reduction of 23% from the previous week and case numbers reported on Sunday were the lowest since mid-December.