Thurles Information

The European Union’s drug regulator has stated that it could issue a decision shortly on whether to approve the use of the Pfizer Covid-19 pill, Paxlovid, after the US drug maker submitted an application seeking its future authorisation.
The EMA have already evaluated a portion of the data, during a review of proposed medication which began in last November. The approval now being sought is for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in patients 12 years of age and older, weighing at least 40 kilograms (6.3 Stone) and remaining at high risk of their illness becoming worse.

Here in the Irish Republic, within the previous 24 hours there have been 23,909 new cases of Covid-19 reported by our Department of Health.

As of 8:00am, there were 1,063 people in hospital with the virus, up 79 on the same time yesterday, and of these, 89 patients are in intensive care units across the country, an increase of 6 on yesterday’s reported cases.

Currently between 14,000 and 15,000 HSE staff are absent, due to Covid related issues.

Some 83,000 children aged between 5 and 11 years, have now registered for vaccination, with and 27,000 of this age group inoculated with their first shot. Parents are being reminded that it is not the case that every child will have a mild dose of Covid-19 and a number of children have become significantly ill in hospital with the virus.

A portal to register positive antigen tests is expected be up and running this week, which will have the functionality to allow people to input their close contacts.

In Northern Ireland today, their Department of Health also reported a further 2,706 coronavirus cases, down from the 3,760 cases reported on yesterday.

They also confirm that 387 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals, with 31 patients with the virus in hospital intensive care units, an increase of one. Sadly, the Northern Ireland Department of Health has also confirmed 6 more Covid-19-related deaths today.

It was never more important that everyone now continue to support our schools, businesses, immediate family and friends and to keep to the spirit of public health advice.

Labour education spokesperson Mr Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Sinn Féin’s Mrs Mary Lou McDonald, over past weeks; anxious to get their headline, both unqualified individuals and party followers, believe children and their teachers are freezing in our classrooms, from windows being left open.
Both elected representatives, in their failure to inform themselves, are deliberately misleading parents, teachers and students.

Please see the report from an expert group HERE.

We ask both of these political parties, because of their obvious ignorance of facts, not to make statements that might inadvertently or otherwise encourage parents, teachers and pupils to close classroom windows.
Open windows play a vital role in the ventilation of rooms. Rooms may be slightly colder as a result of open windows, but cold is the lesser of two current evils, and same is being combated by intelligent teachers advocating an extra clothing layer and the use of normal indoor heating.

Please Listen to Science.

Idle, elected representatives, all seeking attention from the media, please note; HEPA filters are not an alternative to open windows, but may be helpful in some poorly ventilated rooms, corridors etc, and in a large number of schools here in modern Ireland, are not needed. See also pdf shown HERE.

The Department of Health in the Irish Republic has confirmed 26,122 new cases of Covid-19, within the last 24 hours; same the highest daily number since the pandemic began, with the previous highest reported being 23,817 on January 6th last.

There are 917 people in our hospitals across the country, down 19 since yesterday, of whom 83 are in ICUs, down one.

During the first week or two of this Omicron wave, the positivity was largely among young people aged 19 to 24, but this week it is rising through the older age groups.

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland, also, reported a further 3,458 coronavirus cases today, down from the 6,444 cases reported on yesterday. Sadly, the north’s Department of Health has reported 5 more Covid-19-related deaths also today, bringing their total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 3,007.
One in every 12 people in Northern Ireland has received a Covid test in the past seven days.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against describing the Omicron variant as mild, saying that it is killing people across the world.

While recent studies suggest that Omicron is less likely to make people seriously ill, than the previous Covid variant; however the record number of people catching it has left health systems under severe pressure. The above remarks by WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus come as a 74-year-old man is reported to have died from the Omicron variant, in the western state of Rajasthan, thus becoming India’s first death from the new variant.

On the Continent of Africa, poor health infrastructure, a lack of funding for training and the deployment of medical staff, as well as vaccine storage issues; each combine in playing a part in why only about 9% of people have only been fully vaccinated against Covid, to date.

In Italy, one of Italy’s premier immunology experts on coronavirus has been given police protection after she was sent a bullet inside a letter threatening her and her family. Professor Antonella Viola was apparently targeted because of her public support for children to be vaccinated.

In Germany, the country is understood to be planning mandatory vaccinations for adults.

It was never more important that everyone now continue to support our schools, businesses, immediate family and friends and to keep to the spirit of public health advice.