Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team - Wednesday 8 December
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 8 December 2021
- Last updated on: 9 December 2021
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 4,152 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
As of 8am today, 543 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of whom 118 are in ICU.
There has been a total of 5,788 deaths related to COVID-19 notified in Ireland.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said:
"As noted by the World Health Organization today, new data on the Omicron variant are emerging every day, but scientists need time to complete studies and interpret the results. We must be careful about drawing firm conclusions until we have a more complete picture.
"Our high incidence of disease from COVID-19 is driven by the Delta variant. We know how to break the chains of transmission of COVID-19 – these measures have worked against previous variants of COVID-19, they can successfully supress transmission of the Delta variant and we are optimistic that they will work against the Omicron variant.
"Today’s announcement that a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available to children is welcome news and a significant positive step. In the meantime, vaccination remains one of the best ways to protect ourselves from severe illness and death from COVID-19. I would encourage anyone yet to receive a first dose to come forward for vaccination as soon as possible.
"Please prioritise your booster vaccine appointment as soon as you are called for it. Do not wait until after Christmas to receive your booster vaccine. The benefits of receiving your booster dose far outweigh any potential risks that may arise in the meantime. You will begin to receive the benefit of your booster protection within seven days of receiving your third dose. This means that anybody who received their vaccine this week can be confident in the protection the booster will offer them as we move closer to the Christmas period.
"As such, is it vital that all of us prioritise our booster appointments as soon as we receive them or make the time to attend a walk-in vaccination clinic if that option is available."
Notes
Day to day variation in the reported number of cases of COVID-19 does not impact on key trend analysis. Analysing over a longer time period such as a week or 14 days, smooths out any variations introduced by processing times, and provides a more stable picture of the trend.
The number of notifications on CIDR will differ from other HSE data sources, such as positive SARS-CoV-2 results uploaded to the COVID Care Tracker, for several reasons including:
- deduplication of repeat positive tests in the same person
- differing upload schedules by the laboratories to CCT and CIDR – uploading of positive records on CIDR by laboratories is a more manual process than uploading to CCT. Uploading to CIDR typically occurs on the day or within one day of authorisation of the laboratory test result
- the time required for the two-step method of processing notifications on CIDR - this typically occurs either on the day or within one day of laboratories uploading positive records on CIDR
Statistics on booster vaccinations are now available on the COVID-19 data hub.