LATEST 'Living with Covid’ is empty sloganeering in need of a plan | IRISH TIMES Op-ed by ISAG, May 16, 2022
"People in wealthy countries such as Ireland have little experience of living with the long-term reality of serious infectious diseases. Covid-19 has changed that for the foreseeable future. We are a few months now into a new phase, where Covid-19 protective measures are largely removed but Covid-19 continues to circulate. We can do better in Ireland. What should we be striving for?
... Covid-19 is an airborne virus and good air hygiene is a crucial tool in managing its transmission. Specifically, this means pushing vaccine uptake as high as possible; wearing FFP2/N95 masks in crowded indoor settings – retail, schools, workplaces, public transport; and ensuring good ventilation wherever possible, including air filtration in schools, pubs, theatres, nightclubs, and other indoor venues where large numbers of people come together, as is now policy in Belgium. Mask use has fallen below what it should be, but masks are cheap and surprisingly effective, with recent Irish data suggesting they can reduce transmission by more than 40 per cent.
This approach is compatible with a more or less normal life with minimal disruption, and an active economy – living as well as possible with Covid."
ISAG is a multidisciplinary group of scientists, academics, and researchers advocating for an evidence-based pandemic response and progressive elimination of SARS-CoV-2. The group was founded independent of government by Anthony Staines (DCU), Gerry Killeen (UCC), and Tomás Ryan (TCD) in June 2020. Our members are volunteers who discuss the COVID-19 science that underpins our governments’ response strategies. ISAG offers the Group’s expertise and experience to work together with governments and the public.
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