NPHET will meet today as the Health Minister has warned the Omicron wave could be worse than the peak of Delta.
Health officials will consider whether more restrictions are needed for over Christmas.
A worrying intervention from Health Minister Stephen Donnelly last night in which he said the coming wave of Covid could be worse than this time last year.
He said NPHET modeling has predicted case numbers equal to last year, and that hospitalisations could surpass January’s figures.
Despite Omicron appearing to be less severe than Delta, it’s more infectious and could be the dominant strain here by next week.
Minister Donnelly qualified his comments by saying the vaccine levels and ramped up booster campaign provide more protection than was there at the start of 2021.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told his party 2,000,000 people could have booster shots by the end of the year.
Vaccine centre opening times have been extended from 8am to 8pm and the 15 minute wait time has been waived to help GPs and pharmacists give more boosters a day.
NPHET meets with that as the backdrop, with more restrictions on social mixing and close contacts expected.
