All possible measures have been taken to help the health service deal with unexpected levels of Covid testing in the current wave, the HSE Testing and Tracing team said.
“We’re clearly on a wave at the moment,» Damien McCalleon told RTÉ Radio Morning Ireland. Mr. McCalleon said that in the past «six to seven weeks», more than a million PCR tests have been performed.
He said the pressure on the testing system is coming from clinical referrals and close contacts.
«We still get the same day, the next day – it’s the first priority for testing. It’s the swab where the stress is. The labs are working fine – our contact tracing is under pressure but it’s working fine – it’s the access point where the challenge is.»
Mr. McCalleon said availability of tests varies across the country. The current wave of the virus has been stressing all parts of the health system, “not just in testing, but in the ICU, hospitals, general practices, etc. This obviously creates challenges for us at the moment.»
«In the past seven days, we’ve run over 200,000 PCR lab tests — to give it context, in the last six to seven weeks, nearly a million people have had PCR tests, when you consider our population these are huge numbers.»
“We have continued to recruit through this, and it has never stopped. We have identified actions with the private sector that have helped build capabilities.
“But ultimately when you’re in a wave like we are right now, where demand is so important across the healthcare system, there’s always going to be resource constraints — whether it’s ICU, GP, testing — so right now We’re reaching levels none of us thought we’d reach – consider 100,000 as the gold standard – doing 200,000 per week.»
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However, there was some criticism of aspects of HSE’s regulation of both the testing and booster program and the organization apologized after dozens of people were notified by text message that they had been given a Covid-19 booster appointment at the Fairyhouse but were later refused after waiting in line for hours for injections.
When asked about antigen testing in schools, Mr McCallion said that no single test in any scenario was a silver bullet and that a range of measures were required.
The government will not impose further restrictions on the Covid virus this week, as ministers and public health officials wait until at least the end of next week before deciding whether more measures are needed to tackle the fourth wave.
Ministers and officials said they had seen initial signs of the recent massive spike in infections, hospitalizations and ICU admissions, although Tanisti Leo Varadkar said it was too early to be definitive.
Elsewhere, the WHO’s Executive Director for Europe, Dr Rob Butler, said that compulsory vaccination would be the last resort in the fight against Covid-19.
He told Radio Morning Ireland that the vaccine mandate was one of the tools in the toolbox.
«Compulsory vaccination can but not always increase its uptake, and there are lessons from history that we must take into account.
Mandates often come at the expense of trust and social inclusion that can polarize communities, so mandates must be used carefully. It’s a healthy discussion now. I would say this is a last resort.»
Asked about the WHO’s position on US plans to vaccinate children under 12, Dr Butler said: «We recommend Pfizer, children over 12 years of age – these are the recommendations made by our own advisory group of experts globally; In this age group, we encourage vaccination, so, in that sense, yes.»
The World Health Organization has been constantly looking at every age group in real time for vaccination, he said, adding that the biggest question is how to get the 45 percent who are eligible to be vaccinated. «In some countries there were very low levels – it was because of three factors – indolence, comfort and confidence,» Butler said.
Some countries do not trust the vaccine or the authorities providing it, he said, adding that there are also issues with access and service provision in some countries.
Dr. Butler also said there is a need for booster vaccinations among the elderly, health care workers and the immunocompromised.
«Other stabilizers that would make a real difference would be ventilation and more work on treatment and therapeutics. This is a moving target, we’ll have to wait and see if three doses are enough for longer or lifelong immunity.»