All people who are eligible for a Covid-19 booster will be offered new Omicron jabs from early next month – but they could be for different strains of the subvariant.
ome people will be offered a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to protect against the BA.1 form of Omicron which was circulating here earlier this year.
Others will be offered a Pfizer vaccine protecting against BA.4 and the current dominant BA.5 form of Omicron.
The HSE confirmed yesterday that it “has secured sufficient adapted vaccine supply for eligible groups” from early next month.
However, not everyone will be offered the Pfizer vaccine protecting against the main form of Omicron, BA.5, which is now causing most infections.
They could be offered a separate vaccine targeting the BA.1 strain which hit Ireland earlier this year and is made by Pfizer and Moderna.
The bivalent vaccines are the first to provide protection against Omicron and the original Wuhan variant.
Existing vaccines will continue to be used for primary vaccination where people are getting vaccinated for the first time. The HSE said these are “very effective vaccines”. Eligible people under 29 will only be given the Pfizer boosters.
Scientists say any of the new Omicron-specific vaccines will offer broader protection.
It comes as Irish-born Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation (WHO), deplored the “collapse” in surveillance of Covid-19, and warned the pandemic is not yet over.
He said the fall-off in testing in many countries will mean new potentially serious Covid-19 variants will not be picked up early.
Don’t assume that if there is a new variant that health workers, many of whom have post-traumatic stress disorder, can go back to the level of intensity of two years ago
“Testing regimes have become so poor we are blind in one eye or probably to the evolution of the virus. It is extremely short-sighted going into the winter,” he added.
He warned against complacency and said although the end of the emergency phase of the pandemic is in sight, we are “not there yet” and the fall in surveillance could leave countries in real trouble.
He was speaking at a webinar organised by UCC’s School of Public Health and its Centre for Global Development which explored the next phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and solutions to prevent future public health challenges.
Asked what advice he would give Irish health authorities at this point, he said to “keep decisions smart and don’t underestimate the risk”.
Authorities here need to reassess risk, measure if it is adequately tracking the virus, check if the most vulnerable are vaccinated and ensure GPs are equipped to provide the right antivirals to patients at risk to prevent hospitalisation.
He added: “Don’t assume your health workers are going to bound back from the floor in the middle of Christmas or the New Year if there is another wave. Take nothing for granted.
“Don’t assume that if there is a new variant that health workers, many of whom have post-traumatic stress disorder, can go back to the level of intensity of two years ago.”
He added that there are significant Covid risks still and “we have not even counted” the potential of a bad flu season.
Dr Ryan also spoke about attacks, threats and abuse aimed at health staff on platforms such as social media during the pandemic and said while he worked in some of the toughest areas of the world he was never more personally afraid.
While this did not reflect the majority of people, he said, there was a “dark periphery”.
