Of the 155 adults in Ireland who have died with Covid-19 since April, only seven were fully vaccinated, Ireland’s deputy chief medical officer has said.
In a lengthy statement published on Wednesday evening, Dr Ronan Glynn set out the success of Ireland’s vaccination programme as he called on anyone not already vaccinated to receive the jab.
According to Department of Health data shared by Dr Glynn, of 169 adults admitted to intensive care with Covid-19 since April 1st, only six had been fully vaccinated 14 days prior to their diagnosis with the virus.
“Vaccines work,” he said.
“They are about 80 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 disease and they provide approximately 95 per cent protection against hospitalisation — and this protection against severe disease holds up even in the context of the Delta variant.
“Of course, no vaccine is 100 per cent protective and some people who have been fully vaccinated will still get infected with, and get sick from, Covid-19. However, the individual risk of a severe illness or death is much lower than if they had not been vaccinated.”
Dr Glynn said that as vaccination rates increase, the proportion of cases in vaccinated people will increase.
“This does not mean that vaccines are not working,” he said.
“A good way to think about this is in relation to road safety — the majority of people who die on our roads are wearing a safety belt. This does not mean that safety belts do not work.
“It simply reflects the fact that the vast majority of people wear safety belts when driving and, unfortunately, some will be involved in accidents. However, for each individual, the risk of a severe injury or dying in that accident is much lower if they are wearing a safety belt.”
Today we are reporting 1,819* confirmed cases of #COVID19.
As of 8am today, 206 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 36 are in ICU.
*Daily case numbers may change due to future data validation and update.— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) August 11, 2021
On Wednesday, a further 1,819 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Ireland.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 206 Covid-19 patients in hospital, 36 of whom were being treated in intensive care.
“When we see cases in vaccinated people, we need to remember what we are not seeing. What we don’t see is the very many more infections, hospitalisations and deaths that have been prevented by vaccination,” Dr Glynn said.
He also said that health officials are confident that the “absolute number of cases in vaccinated people will decrease over time”.
Ireland, Dr Glynn said, is already seeing that trend in older people.
“While 67 per cent of cases in those who are 65 years and older in the last fortnight have been in people who reported having received two vaccines, the absolute number of cases in this age group (764) is much less than in previous ‘waves’,” Dr Glynn said.
From Thursday, parents and guardians will be able to register 12 to 15-year-olds for a vaccine.
More than 77 per cent of adults in Ireland are fully vaccinated, according to the latest figures.
