Covid-19 Evaluation chairwoman says decision-makers' engagements will not be aired in public
Senior decision-makers engagement with Ireland's pandemic review will not be aired in public, chairwoman of the Covid-19 Evaluation Professor Anne Scott said. She was issuing an appeal to the public to share their experience of the Covid-19 pandemic between now and July.
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The Journal
8 hours ago
- The Journal
There's a new, more contagious Covid variant creeping into Ireland - here's the scoop on 'Nimbus'
A NEW COVID variant is being closely monitored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) following a rise in infections in several parts of the world. First identified at the end of January, the variant – officially named NB.1.8.1 and informally known as Nimbus – has become increasingly common here in Ireland, as well as across Europe, the Americas, south-east Asia and Australia. Just over one in ten Covid cases in Ireland in the last few weeks was the Nimbus variant – but the numbers overall still remain low. So what is known about the new Nimbus strain? Is it more infectious? Nimbus carries genetic mutations that may make it more infectious and better able to evade certain antibodies – essentially meaning it is more transmissible than previous strains. However, the WHO has graded the overall public health risk from the strain as 'low' on a global scale. Like other variants, Nimbus has changes to its spike protein — the part of the virus that helps it enter human cells. These changes may increase its ability to spread and weaken the effect of antibodies from previous infections. Even so, the WHO reports there is no evidence that Nimbus causes more severe illness than other currently circulating strains, and it has not led to higher hospitalisations or death rates. What are the symptoms? The symptoms linked to the Nimbus strain are much the same as those seen with other Covid variants. They include sore throat, cough, tiredness, fever, muscle aches, loss of taste or smell, breathing difficulties, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. While this variant may partially bypass some immune defences, WHO experts say this level of 'immune escape' is similar to that seen in previous Omicron subvariants. Advertisement Importantly, the variant does not appear to resist antiviral treatments, and current vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness. When did the new strain enter Ireland? According to the WHO, the strain first appeared in January and by late April it was responsible for around 10.7% of global infections, up from just 2.5% a month earlier. The strain has seen a rapid rise in Ireland in recent weeks. According to data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), the proportion of sequenced Covid samples linked to Nimbus jumped from 3.7% to 27.3% in the recent weeks. NB.1.8.1 accounted for 11% of total positive Covid tests in the last 5 weeks in Ireland. Don't panic though, cases are not spiking. Last week, there were just 216 cases of Covid reported in Ireland, with 90 hospitalisations attributed to Covid. Most of the recorded cases (around 55%) were people over the age of 65, the most vulnerable age group, which explains the high rate of hospitalisation. While 216 cases may seem like a lot, cases were significantly higher this time last year – over 1,000 cases were reported every week in June 2024. Cases have remained low this year. In recent weeks, the average amount of recorded cases was just over 160. What can I do? However, for those at higher risk – including older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or those with chronic health conditions – Nimbus does pose a potential threat. The WHO advises that these groups keep up to date with booster jabs to maintain strong protection against severe Covid outcomes. While there are no longer any self-isolation mandates in the Ireland, the HSE recommends avoiding contact with others for five days if you experience symptoms. The HSE also advises you to avoid meeting people who are at very high risk for ten days. Seasonal Covid booster shots will be available in autumn, and are recommended for people who are most at risk of severe illness. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
How many people in Ireland believe in conspiracy theories?
Analysis: While the majority do not believe six prominent conspiracy theories, the level of support for some of these might raise a few eyebrows By Robert Brennan and Rabhya Mehrotra, DCU Conspiracy beliefs are explanations for events or situations that involve secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups. These beliefs often arise when people are trying to make sense of complex, uncertain, or threatening situations. While some conspiracy theories turn out to be based on genuine misconduct or secrecy, most are built on misinformation, misunderstanding or deliberate distortion of reality. Research suggests that conspiracy thinking can be more common when people feel powerless, threatened or distrustful of institutions. Social media platforms can also amplify conspiracy narratives by enabling rapid sharing of misinformation and connecting like-minded believers It has been well documented that conspiracy theories have gained traction in recent years, particularly among the loud minority of the far-right. This was one of the issues to feature in the recently published National Election and Democracy Study. The survey asked the public the extent to which they believed six prominent conspiracy theories to be true, including if a small, secret group of people is responsible for making all major decisions in world politics. From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, why are so many conspiracy theories reaching mainstream media? Two of the conspiracy theories concerned the notion that the public is unknowingly being exposed to diseases or being experimented on, beliefs that boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic: Viruses and/or diseases have been deliberately disseminated to infect certain populations. Experiments involving new drugs or technologies are routinely carried out on the public without their knowledge or consent. Another two conspiracy theories concerned immigration, specifically that the establishment building a base of loyal migrant voters and the 'Great replacement' theory (a myth with origins in Nazi propaganda that has been directly linked to devastating acts of terrorism): Elected officials want more immigration to bring in obedient voters who will vote for them. The establishment is replacing white Irish people with non-white immigrants. The final two were more the classic kinds of conspiracy theories, that the public are being tricked and controlled by the elite or an ominous, unseen group: Groups of scientists manipulate, fabricate, or suppress evidence in order to deceive the public. A small, secret group of people is responsible for making all major decisions in world politics. Overall, the responses show that the majority of people do not believe in these conspiracy theories, with well over half of the population dismissing them as unlikely, or definitely not true. But the amount of support these theories have, however, might raise a few eyebrows. The 'classics' seem to have the most support, with roughly a third of people leaning towards believing that the public are being deceived by scientists or that a secret group of people control the world behind the scenes. These percentages shoot up to over half of the population if you include those who are unsure whether these beliefs are true or not. Belief for conspiracies concerning the public being intentionally exposed to diseases or experimented on had less support. Roughly a quarter of people thought these to be true to some extent. Again, however, a considerable amount of people were unsure, bringing the percentage of the population who give these beliefs at least some degree of truth to just below half. From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, Ciarán O'Connor from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue on 'conspirituality', where wellness culture and conspiracies collide The conspiracy theories the Irish population believe to be the least likely to be true are those centred around immigration and ethnicity. Just under a quarter of people believe the idea that the establishment is importing loyal voters or the great replacement theory. A further 20% or people or so have some doubts. What sources lead to people believing in conspiracy theories? We have previously looked at what the 2024 General Election survey tells us about media use, media trust and trust in institutions among the Irish public. Here, we report on correlations in the data that show how each of these relate to one's level of belief in conspiracy theories. A clear link emerged between how much people used different sources of information and belief in conspiracy theories. The more people used journalistic media (RTÉ and newspapers) in forming an opinion before voting, the less likely they were to believe in conspiracy theories. The reverse was found for non-journalistic media, whereby the more people used social media and messaging apps, the more likely they were to believe in conspiracies. Interestingly, the same trends were found when looking at the relationship between media trust and conspiracy beliefs. We found that greater trust in non-journalistic media (such as messaging apps and social Media) correlates with higher belief in conspiracy theories overall. Conversely, higher trust and use of journalistic media (RTÉ, newspapers), along with higher education levels and use of party information for voting decisions, correlate with lower belief in conspiracies. Age, gender, and trust in party information show no real impact. The bottom line seems clear. There are lower levels of conspiracy belief amongst those who trust traditional media, even if they do not use it. It would seem then that supporting the use and trust of journalistic media is very much in the interest of everyone who values a good information ecosystem. It's also important not to overstate the significance of the data trends we identified in the post-election survey, as they only give a broad indication of what the people of Ireland are willing to endorse. Nevertheless, the election surveys are, and will continue to be an important barometer of the Irish public's attitudes towards such beliefs over time. Dr Robert A. Brennan is a postdoctoral researcher with the Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society (FuJo) at DCU. Rabhya Mehrotra is a Mitchell Scholar who is doing a Masters in Political Communication at DCU. She is a part of the COMDEL team at the (FuJo).
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
Protest held in support of GP Marcus de Brun who is facing inquiry over views on pandemic measures
Dr de Brun, who ran Rush Family Practice in Rush, north Dublin, is facing an allegation of professional misconduct and accused of failing to support public health guidelines during the pandemic. A hearing of his case before the Medical Council, which regulates doctors, has been postponed until July. A number of GPs who were at the protest today called it a 'A Peaceful Assembly for Medical Freedom'. They asked people to join them in support of Dr de Brun and other GPs who continue to 'feel the impact of calling a halt to the Covid vaccines and are demanding a comprehensive and transparent investigation in to Covid 19 policies'. They were joined by other supporters with placards as they called for the freedom for doctors to express opinions. Dr de Brun who was appointed to the Medical Council by the then Minister for Health Simon Harris in 2018 later resigned in 2020 when he criticised the Government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis in relating to nursing homes. He said at the time that 'unquestionably the most vulnerable cohort of patients in Ireland are those residents of nursing homes'. 'This fact should have been entirely obvious to all involved in the management of the crisis.' The European Medicines Agency said Covid vaccines continue to protect people from severe disease and death caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Vaccination is the best tool to prevent the consequences of infection, said the watchdog. It said that infection can cause severe disease and long-term damage, including in healthy adults and children. 'It remains particularly dangerous for older or sick people with low immunity and those with faulty immune systems. 'Estimates indicate that millions of lives have been saved by Covid-19 vaccination.' Meanwhile, a new fast-spreading Covid variant has arrived in Ireland .The NB.1.8.1 is blamed for a sharp surge in cases of the virus in China in particular and it is the dominant strain in western Australia . Fourteen cases have been confirmed in Ireland after sequencing but it is expected to spread in the coming weeks.
