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Infectious diseases expert Prof Sam McConkey has said further data is needed on Covid-19 transmission to ensure the introduction of a “vaccination passport” could work.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast about a European Commission proposal for a Europe-wide digital certificate providing proof of a Covid-19 vaccination, Prof McConkey said such a system would not be difficult to implement quickly, as there was already a model for yellow fever, but questioned whether the proposal would actually work.
Some people could still be susceptible to the virus, children could help spread Covid-19 and transmissibility would still be an issue, he said, adding that the duration of a vaccination’s efficacy could also become an issue. It is not yet known how long vaccines will provide immunity – it could be six months or a year, said Prof McConkey.
However, the State should put a plan for vaccination certificates in place if data indicates such a system will work, he added.
Under the commission’s proposal, people would be able to travel within the EU using a “digital green pass” to demonstrate they have been vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid-19. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday the commission would put forward a proposal for the green pass which also accommodate Europeans who have not yet been able to receive the vaccine.
The issue has divided member states, with strong tourism economies such as Greece advocating “vaccine passports” but other countries cautioning the measure would be discriminatory.
Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher said the State should “embrace” and “encourage” a vaccine certificate system as a means of proving that people had participated in a vaccination programme.
Mr Kelleher acknowledged that the vaccine passport system would discriminate against those who had not been vaccinated, but “we have to live in the real world,” he said. There are people who have to travel for work, such as migrant fruit workers, and having a vaccination certificate would allow them to do so, he said, adding that such a system would also benefit the tourism sector.
The Government is set to consider tighter restrictions on international travel on Tuesday as Tánaiste Leo Varadkar promised that a new system for mandatory hotel quarantine will be in place “within weeks”.
Approval
The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is also expected to seek Government approval to extend an existing ban on visa-free travel from South Africa and most South American countries due to the threat posed by Covid-19 variants.
New legislation to enforce mandatory State quarantine in hotels for passengers from high-risk countries passed all stages in the Oireachtas on Monday and will now go to the President for signature.
There were 494 people in hospital with Covid-19 on Monday night, down from 537 on Sunday evening. Of these, 115 were in ICU, a drop of 17 on numbers receiving critical care treatment the previous day. Some 82 people are currently on ventilators to help them breathe.
The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has continued to fall in recent weeks, dropping from 676 hospital cases on February 22nd, 1,100 on February 8th and 1,803 on January 25th.
ICU numbers are also falling, down from 154 on Feb 22nd, 173 on February 8th and 217 on January 25th.
There were 687 confirmed cases of the virus recorded in the Republic on Monday with one death, bringing to 4,319 to total Covid-19 death toll.
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said on Monday that progress continues to be made, noting that there had been no new admissions to ICU in the previous 24 hours for the first time since St Stephen’s Day.
There were 691 Covid-19 related deaths in February, compared to 1,309 in January. Case numbers continue to decline, albeit slowly, according to Prof Philip Nolan, chair of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) epidemiological modelling group. Last week, there were almost 10 per cent fewer cases than the previous week. Test positivity, which had plateaued, is falling again, as are daily admissions to hospital.
Professor Brian MacCraith, chair of the vaccine taskforce, has said first doses for over-85s will be completed this week, and the vaccination of 80-84 year olds will commence.
Those with specific medical conditions such as cancer and chronic kidney disease and people who are immunocompromised will begin to be vaccinated from next week, March 8th.
In Northern Ireland, Stormont ministers are meeting today to review the final version of the North’s “pathway to recovery” strategy for easing restrictions.
Ministers have already made clear the blueprint will be led by data, not dates, with decisions on when to move between stages based on scientific and medical data. Northern Ireland’s lockdown and accompanying stay-at-home message is currently in place until April 1st.
The North’s department of health said its vaccination programme will be extended to include people aged between 60 and 64. So far more than 500,000 people in Northern Ireland have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
In France, the health minister said on Monday that people aged 65-74 with existing health problems can now be given the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, departing from Paris’s earlier stance that the vaccine should be for under-65s only.
When the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use by European Union regulators, France mandated it would only go to eligible people under 65 because data from trials in older age groups was limited.
Since that decision, more data from trials has shown the efficacy of the vaccine, while France has also struggled with a shortage of vaccines from its other suppliers, Pfizer and Moderna.
Meanwhile, Austria and Denmark have said they are forming an alliance with Israel to produce second-generation vaccines against mutations of the coronavirus after criticising the EU for delays in ordering, approving and distributing vaccines.