The public have been urged to keep their focus in the battle against the pandemic, with the HSE warning of a potentially “explosive” impact on healthcare services.
Health service boss Paul Reid has raised concerns over whether the public has the level of resilience needed to get through the current wave of the pandemic.
At an HSE briefing on Thursday, Mr Reid said higher levels of movement have been seen across society, including people going to work and between households.
He said if there is a loss of focus at this time, there is “a risk to all of us, to all of our families and society” and that this risk could rise to “quite an explosive level” in a short space of time.
He told the briefing: “A word of caution, because as a health system, we do remain concerned that the public hold or sustain a level of resilience that’s going to be required to get us out the other end of this wave that we’re in.
“We do have a lot of concern, seeing certainly a lot higher levels of movement across society. Whether it is to get to work or whether it is to transit, or whether it is to move between households.
“We are seeing a lot more movement. From a health system (perspective) that does give us a cause of concern.”
He said there was a long way to go before hospitals return to levels safe enough to resume non-urgent care services which have been suspended because of the pandemic.
He added: “The risks that we do see from the HSE’s perspective is that, as a society, as a population, we lose focus at this time.
“Losing focus at this time, we will be losing it when we’re at a base level of the virus that’s still a risk to all of us, all of our families and society.
“It’s a risk level that could quickly and ultimately turn, as we know from the past, at quite an explosive level. Particularly if it was to turn at the levels we’re at at the moment.”
Healthcare workers are “exhausted”, Mr Reid said, but have been given “the fuel they need in the tank” thanks to the vaccine programme.
Last week 80,000 vaccine doses were administered, with 100,000 expected to be delivered this week, the briefing heard.
Dr Colm Henry, the Chief Clinical Officer at the HSE, said there is “really positive real world evidence” of the impact vaccines are having.
He said: “If you look at residential care in the week ending February 14, there were 482 lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19 in residential care.
“In the week ending February 22 there were 91. That’s a very sharp drop.”
COVID19 (coronavirus) update from Dr. Steevens’ Hospital https://t.co/Oe92PDkWMq
— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) February 25, 2021
Dr Henry reference a New York Times article which showed an 80 per cent drop in mortality in nursing home settings in the US, which is “beyond what they’re seeing out in the community”.
He added: “The reason for that supports this prioritisation framework. If you were to vaccinate everybody in this room, you’re unlikely to see a significant reduction in severe disease, because you’re looking at a cohort of people who are relatively low risk in relation to the vaccine.
“If you vaccinate its equal number of people in a residential care setting, you’re much more likely to prevent a serious illness or even mortality, because they’re at much greater risk in that setting.
“The trend we’re beginning to see, a drop in reported cases in residential care settings, again is really encouraging.
“It certainly supports the early vaccination of this cohort, which now, as we’ve heard, is coming to completion.”
