Updated at 17:35
The Department of Health has been notified of 5,940 PCR-confirmed cases of Covid-19.
In addition, on Tuesday, February 1st, 6,620 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal.
There has been a total of 6,228 deaths related to Covid-19 notified in Ireland, including 92 deaths newly notified in the past week since last Wednesday.
As of 8am today, 630 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised and 65 are in ICU.
The news comes as the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) is expected to issue a recommendation on booster vaccinations for teenagers in the next two or three weeks, public health officials have said.
As The Irish Times reports, the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) said that in “broad terms”, it is satisfied with the level of protection in place against Covid-19 in the State.
Christmas period
Speaking at a meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee on Wednesday, Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer, said demand for booster vaccines has decreased since the record rush experienced over the Christmas and New Year period.
“There are a variety of reasons for that. We think that if you take the proportion of people who have been boosted and then the proportion of people who can’t be boosted because they’ve been recently infected… we estimate that about 80 per cent of all those eligible to be boosted have been boosted,” he said.
“That compares very favourably internationally, but again there is a proportion of people out there who haven’t taken the opportunity to [get boosted].”
There is currently no recommendation for booster vaccines for those in the 12 to 15 year old cohort, he said, adding that the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) is currently examining the issue.
“There’s a lot to weigh up there so we’ll wait to hear back from them. I think we would expect something certainly in the next two to three weeks, I think, we’d expect a recommendation from them either way on this.”
On the remaining restrictions in schools, Dr Glynn said public health officials are reviewing evidence about mask-wearing for primary schools and will make a recommendation on it later this month.
Asked about the difference between pubs and schools, Dr Glynn said a “key part” of the rationale is to give all children in primary schools an opportunity to be vaccinated. In pubs, all adults have been given this opportunity, he added.
To date, over 100,000 children have been vaccinated in the State.
Professor Philip Nolan said the most recent wave of infection saw case numbers track the more pessimistic end of modelling figures.
