Rachel Lavin | Business Post

Rachel Lavin

@rachel-lavin

Data Journalist

Death threats and sexual harassment: Lifting the lid on the online abuse of Irish politicians

Irish politicians currently face unprecedented levels of abuse on social media. Now research has discovered that almost half of all the hostility is coming from a tiny number of accounts. But in a new age of political rancour, a small cohort can still make an extremely loud noise

Covid-19 antiviral pills may not be available in Ireland till end of next month

The pills can be taken at home and are similar to an antibiotic, but are in short supply globally

Analysis: At what point could Covid-19 be reasonably compared to a cold or flu?

Covid-19’s levels of fatality far exceed flu, but Omicron’s reduced severity combined with boosters and the arrival of antiviral pills may change that

Are we nearly there yet? How the Covid-19 crisis could be reaching its endgame

A growing number of medical experts are increasingly optimistic that the pandemic may be about to peak, with Omicron causing far fewer deaths and showing a reduced virulence. While there is still some caution, their predictions suggest we can get back to normal soon – but what will that look like?

Anti-viral Covid pills should be made available to cancer patients, charity says

New treatments such as Paxlovid can reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death in high risk coronavirus patients by 89 per cent

Covid-19: Omicron wave to peak but concerns remain over record case numbers

With one of the highest incidence rates in the world, how will hospitals cope in the next few weeks?

True number of daily cases could ‘easily be’ 60,000

Overwhelmed testing system likely to be missing tens of thousands of cases as positivity rate soars

Positive antigen tests could be added to official Covid figures

Government is optimistic that Covid-19 cases will peak this coming week, but business leaders warn that staffing shortages are emerging in critical industries like food and pharma

What can we do to stop Omicron?

We look at four possible solutions to beat the latest Covid variant

Higher cases, fewer deaths: the enigma of Omicron

Cases of Covid-19 have skyrocketed across Europe since Omicron appeared a month ago, but casualty figures have not followed suit. Is the new variant less aggressive than its predecessor?

Healthcare workers now advised to wear FFP2 or N95 masks

‘Filtering face piece’ masks can significantly reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection

Government seeks to get Paxlovid before other EU countries

Pfizer anti-viral pill cuts risk of hospitalisation and death from Covid-19 dramatically

Businesses told to prepare for January shutdowns as Omicron spike looms

Industry sources say the modelling on case numbers presented by the HSE and Nphet is ‘very grim’

Omicron: Why the experts have ‘never been more concerned’

With case numbers doubling every two days, and vaccine protection dropping in some cases to zero, it seems the safest option is to batten down the hatches and spend a very quiet Christmas

Analysis: 50,000 people could be isolating on Christmas Day

Omicron surge predicted for early January

Booster race: why the arrival of Omicron raises the stakes

Despite the rollout of booster vaccines, experts fear the new variant could cause Covid-19 infection rates to reach 10,000 cases a day by the new year

Leading expert calls for schools to close a week early

Cases have surged among primary school children in recent weeks, but the government does not plan to bring forward or extend the Christmas holidays

Analysis: Case numbers high as vaccines for children approved and booster rollout slows

The amount of no shows for the third jab has increased as it is offered to younger age groups

The spectre of Omicron: ‘It’s like something Dr Evil would construct on an island lair’

The emergence of the new coronavirus variant has sparked alarm among governments and volatility on the markets, with travel from southern Africa being restricted and blue-chip stocks falling sharply

Covid-19: Grim reality of a failure to prepare shatters euphoria of vaccine rollout

A disillusioned and frustrated public face a more dangerous Christmas than last year, with some blaming a misguided faith in vaccination as a silver bullet