One health expert has suggested that the incoming winter months will see an increase in people being hospitalised with infectious illnesses, but by “no means is it certain” that we will relive the catastrophic situation we have had in recent years.
That’s according to Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Colm Henry, who said a close eye is being kept on winter trends seen in Australia - where a sharp rise in Covid and Flu cases was seen, but it has not resulted in major pressure on their health system.
The CCO was interviewed on Newstalk Breakfast on Thursday morning and was asked whether or not we should be worried about a winter disaster in our hospitals.
READ MORE: Winter warning issued to Irish public about imminent 'twindemic'
Dr. Henry explained that “we’re right to be concerned, a lot of people have expressed concern in recent weeks - it’s possible but by no means certain that we’re going to see a twindemic.”
However, “when we look at the trends of influenza in Australia, that is usually a signal to ourselves, and we see there was an early spike in cases but it didn’t translate to huge pressures on their health system and their case fatality rates were lower than the previous year.”
The Chief Clinical Officer went on to say that here in Ireland, most people will have been exposed to the most highly transmissible variant of Covid-19 - Omicron - in some shape or form over the past twelve months, which is of benefit heading into the winter months as “there is some natural immunity out there in our population.”
He said the main thing people can do to protect themselves and the wider community from a repeat of past years amid Covid is to ensure they’re up to date with their vaccinations. “We are still encouraging people to build on that by getting their vaccination - those second boosters for those aged 50 and over,” he explained.
“We’re also encouraging people when we start the combined flu booster campaign for those who are eligible - mainly those over 65 or who are immunocompromised aged over 12 to build on that immunity - to get it both to protect themselves and the wider community.”
He also said, we’re not out of the woods yet and there is always a minor chance that our health system could face pressure this year, “so, yes, some trepidation looking forward, but by no means are we certain we’re going to see the catastrophic predictions some are making.”
When asked if that means that it’s likely we won’t see a disastrous situation, but there is always a chance, Dr. Henry responded: “What it means is there is great uncertainty and we are not alone in that.
“Countries across Western Europe and in the Northern Hemisphere are similar, and the signals were looking at.”
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