Highest number of people in hospital with virus since April

OVER 1,000 people were in hospital yesterday with Covid, the first time since April the figure has been this high.

It comes as European health agencies said there is no evidence yet to support a second booster for those under 60.

As of yesterday morning, there are 1,055 people in hospital with Covid, with 139 admissions in the preceding 24 hours.

Of those, 40 are being treated in the ICU. In addition, there were 454 admitted patients on trolleys yesterday morning, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives trolley watch count.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said there is ‘no clear evidence’ for the use of a second booster in people aged under 60 who are ‘not at higher risk of

Approvals: EMA’s Emer Cooke severe disease’. In a joint statement released yesterday, the EMA and ECDC said there is also no clear evidence to support giving early second booster doses to healthcare workers or those working in long-term care homes ‘unless they are at high risk’.

Both agencies are calling on public health authorities across the EU to plan for additional boosters during autumn and winter for people with highest risk of severe disease, possibly combining Covid and flu vaccinations.

They recommend second booster doses should be considered for people between 60 and 79 years old and people with medical conditions putting them at risk.

Under current Irish rules, only those aged 65 and older or those 12 and older with a weak immune system can get a second booster.

Dr Andrea Ammon, the Director of ECDC, said: ‘We are currently seeing increasing Covid case notification rates and an increasing trend in hospital and ICU admissions and occupancy in several countries mainly driven by the BA 5 sub-lineage of Omicron.

‘This signals the start of a new, widespread Covid wave across the European Union.

‘We expect that adults 60 years and older and medically vulnerable populations will need a second booster dose. These are the groups most at risk of severe disease and giving a second booster to those groups now will avert a significant number of hospitalisations and deaths from Covid.

‘I am aware that it requires a significant effort from public health authorities and society at large to achieve this goal. But now at the beginning of a new wave is the time to make the extra effort.’

The EMA’s Executive Director Emer Cooke added that they are ‘working towards possible approvals of adapted vaccines in September’ to help protect people against the Omicron variants of concern.

She added: ‘Our medicines committee is currently reviewing data for two adapted vaccines

‘In the meantime, it is important to consider using currently authorised vaccines as second boosters in people who are most vulnerable. Authorised vaccines in the EU continue to be effective at preventing hospitalisations, severe disease and deaths, even as new variants and subvariants continue to emerge.’

Yesterday, the Department of Health said it welcomed the recommendations but that it is up to the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) to consider this change.

The Department said: ‘Any recommendations made by the NIAC on foot of its deliberations will then be considered by the Acting CMO and Minister prior to being communicated to the HSE for implementation.

‘All those who are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated are strongly recommended to complete a primary Covid vaccination course and booster vaccinations for those who are eligible, to reduce hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths.’

So far over 423,000 second booster doses have been administered to eligible people.

‘This signals the start of a new wave’