The State’s remarkable rate of Covid-19 vaccine uptake – more than 91 per cent of all adults have now received two doses – is a strong affirmation of public faith in science, and in the public’s ability to see through the pernicious fictions peddled by conspiracy theorists. In many countries false claims have gained more traction, with terrible results.
Some 2,000 people are dying every day in the United States, with states with the lowest vaccination rates hardest hit in the latest phase of the crisis.
In Bulgaria, just 22 per cent of people are fully vaccinated. Like several eastern European states, hospitals there are close to being overwhelmed and the Delta variant is running rampant through the population. In Northern Ireland, meanwhile, vaccine uptake is the lowest in the United Kingdom and the prospect of reaching those who have resisted until now is receding.
Hospital Report
Many countries have introduced vaccine mandates in key sectors such as healthcare that involve high contact with members of the public
But while the picture in the Republic is in general very positive, misinformation about vaccines can still have dangerous effects. The issue came to public attention last week with the death of Donegal man Joe McCarron, who was encouraged to leave hospital against medical advice and was readmitted and placed on a ventilator a day later. There is also a low but nonetheless worrying number of healthcare professionals, including staff in care homes, who have declined vaccines and therefore carry a higher risk of infecting those around them. Some 4 per cent of staff Beaumont Hospital in Dublin have refused to be vaccinated, and the hospital has had to redeploy 26 frontline staff because they are not inoculated.
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All of this underlines the importance of ongoing information campaigns and the need for robust intervention by social media firms in halting the circulation online of false claims about vaccines. Many countries have introduced vaccine mandates in key sectors such as healthcare that involve high contact with members of the public. The Health Service Executive has taken a less intrusive approach, but mandates should remain on the table. Public trust in the safety of healthcare settings cannot be put at risk.