Vaccines | Business Post

HSE to roll out Covid vaccine for children as young as 6 months

Niac has recommended that all those aged between 6 months and four years old should get the jab

Pfizer chief: €1.2 billion Irish investment is just the start

Mike McDermott, chief global supply officer and executive vice-president, says Pfizer will continue to invest in its Irish operations beyond the major Grange Castle investment announced last week

Global supply chains still ‘unpredictable’, but improving

Sheri Lewis of Avantor, a US chemicals and materials company which has just opened a specialised distribution centre in Dublin, sees lead times shortening and costs coming down, ‘but it’s still quite fragile’

Comment: The route to global vaccine equity is not through the status quo

Open source technology stimulates rather than blocks innovation

Comment: The route to global vaccine equity is not through a waiver of IP rights

A Trips agreement waiver would lead to a drop in research and development for Covid-19-related products like vaccines and treatments

Beacon refused HSE offer of backup list of healthcare workers to get Covid vaccine

The vaccination centre at the hospital was closed after it was revealed that teachers and staff at St Gerard’s School in Bray received vaccines meant for healthcare workers

Israeli expert says country’s Covid-19 spike should be a ‘warning sign’ to Ireland

Dr Nadav Davidovitch said it was important to speed up the vaccination campaign for children around the world

75% of children aged 5-11 yet to be registered for Covid vaccine

Less than 20% of young children have received a first dose of the vaccine, which has been available since early January

Editorial: Ordinary people did the right thing during the pandemic

The most flagrant violators of Covid-19 rules and restrictions were a handful of powerful people who seemed to think the rules didn’t apply to them

Vaccine exemption on medical grounds held up by legal and logistical problems

Consideration is being given to a system to facilitate people who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons

WHO expert: Omicron spread means Covid could become like common cold

David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s special envoy on Covid-19, nonetheless warned the public to expect ‘a bumpy next few months’

Ian Guider: Unvaccinated staff now in the firing line of concerned businesses

An increasing number of companies are encouraging their workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine jab, but some are being more forceful about it than others

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?

Citigroup tells staff in Ireland that they won’t have to get vaccinated to keep their jobs

Investment bank has told staff in the US that they could lose their jobs if they are not vaccinated

Matt Cooper: Clock is ticking on whether all the Six Nations games will be held in England

With restrictions on attendances in Ireland, Scotland and Wales – and France not wanting any visitors travelling from England at all – playing all the matches in England in full capacity stadiums might seem attractive. But would it be like Cheltenham 2020 all over again, only worse?

Tony O’Brien: Our kite-flying politicians haven’t yet given health workers a red cent

Promises to reward health workers for services ‘over and above the call of duty’ inevitably triggered claims from other groups that had worked through the pandemic. But there is no practical or moral equivalence to what was endured by those who kept, and keep, the health service going

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?

Absence rates predicted to rise to 30% as businesses urge new close-contact rules

Employers’ group Ibec calls for changes to self-isolation rules as staff absence threatens to close essential services

Fallout of the ‘pingdemic’: should the close-contact rules change?

Staff shortages caused by the self-isolation mandate for close contacts of cases of Covid-19 are leading to closures and reduced service in pubs and restaurants, as well as in shops, pharmacies, factories and supply chains

Editorial: Happy New Year to everyone, but most of all to young people

Young adults in Ireland and around the world have borne the severe Covid-19 restrictions this year with humour and serenity