NPHET has finally smelt the coffee, after two years of disproportionate, dangerous, and scientifically shallow policy recommendations.
It has finally recommended the removal of almost all Covid restrictions and regulations, including a return to normal opening hours for hospitality and the end of the use of the vaccination pass for pubs and restaurants. However, mask mandates will remain in place, at least for the time being.
This decision was probably influenced by the overwhelming evidence that fighting Covid with non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) is now a fool’s errand. Some factors that render NPIs patently absurd against Omicron (they were always scientifically unsupported, but now they are patently absurd):
All of these factors probably influenced NPHET’s recommendation to drop most Covid measures. But there is also the political landscape to consider: Politically, the public fatigue with Covid measures is palpable, and having a neighbouring country, England, phasing out all Covid restrictions, obviously put pressure on the Irish government and NPHET to rethink their draconian approach.
While the end of vaccine passes and lockdowns in Ireland is obviously cause for celebration, we are not quite out of the woods, for a few reasons:
To sum up: the lifting of most Covid restrictions in Ireland, especially the vaccine pass, is wonderful news, likely to create further momentum for the international collapse of the Covid regime. But we still have some way to go before an international consensus emerges that the masking of health people serves no useful purpose. And it is imperative, as a matter of justice and common sense, that vaccine passports for international travel be dismantled right away; and that the principle of informed consent be restored in all institutional settings across the world.
So roll up your sleeves, because the fight to restore our basic liberties is far from over.