Masks ‘need to go’ at end of March
MASK-WEARING is unlikely to be needed past March if we continue on our current Covid trajectory, according to UCC immuno virologist Professor Liam Fanning.
While the future is still ‘very uncertain’ and the risk of a vaccineresistant variant poses a threat to our progress in ending the pandemic, Professor Fanning said Covid measures should reflect falling case numbers later this year.
‘The soft measure of masks needs to go at some point. I suspect they will hold on to masks until the end of March with a derogation for schools and workplaces to hold on to them, but we do need to take an evidence-based approach to keeping these measures on board. Saying, for example, that teachers would feel more comfortable if their secondary school pupils had masks on would not be enough of a reason.’
Professor Fanning has said we should eventually be able to manage Covid-19 similarly to how we manage the flu and that the population needs to get used to the idea of being infected with the virus.
‘We can’t be depending on pandemic level measures to manage a systemic healthcare problem. So we can’t have the option of lockdown measures to manage systemic problems in the health service if we get a largely uneventful infection season, like Omicron and the flu coming together next September.’
Most people are now vaccinated or have achieved natural immunity through infection, he said, but he did insist it will be important for those who have been infected with Omicron to get their booster jab when offered it, to keep hospitalisations down.
The new anti-viral drug, Paxlovid, will also reduce the number of cases with severe illness.
Professor Fanning said: ‘We have reason for strong optimism and I think this is the time for the Government to develop a plan that doesn’t depend on reducing social and economic activity by shutdowns and lockdowns. We need agile and rapid decisionmaking structures in place.’
‘We have reason for strong optimism’