On the one hand, it’s good news that more people will be getting the flu vaccine, full stop, for the simple reason that the more people who are vaccinated, the harder it will be for flu to spread, meaning we’ll have fewer cases of flu overall, even in people who are not vaccinated. On the […]
Pathologists who analyse cancer samples have been told not to run tests on any biopsies sent by private consultants if those consultants have not signed a new contract for the covid-19 response with the HSE. The claim was made by Stephen Donnelly TD who said an email sent by the State Claims Agency instructed that biopsies […]
It’s a time for questions; answers not so much. Some questions are personal and come more from a sense of entitlement than obvious deprivation. My version of the above might substitute Belgrade for Paris because I have two young grandchildren there and like many grandparents at this time, there is a sense, as weeks grow into […]
I don’t know Oliver Callan from Adam, and we’d probably disagree on many things, but he is a genuinely funny comedian. His political sketches are hilarious, and he’s a brilliant mimic, effortlessly taking off everyone from Mary-Lou McDonald to Brian Johnson and Leo Varadkar. Last week, however, he learned that criticising Leo Varadkar during a pandemic will […]
Ireland is floating in and out of the Top Ten countries with the worst death rates per million, a fact largely attributable to how our caretaker government handled nursing homes.
The slip-up came as the Wicklow TD was answering a question about whether a vaccine would be found to end the outbreak of Covid-19.
One of the most remarkable achievements of the Irish government in the Covid-19 crisis has been its ability to avoid almost any hard questions for any of its actions, even when they’ve made clearly terrible decisions that would end up costing lives. Most media outlets have simply fallen into line and become mouthpieces for the […]
This article will consider the potential for political and public-health mismanagement of the Covid-19 crisis, since confirmation of the first case in Ireland on 29/2/2020 to the time of writing 12/4/2020. I will begin with a brief outline of some of what is known about the Covid-19 virus, and what is known about Coronaviridae in […]
An eminent doctor appointed by Simon Harris to the Medical Council two years ago has resigned in protest at the government’s alleged “blunder” in regard to nursing homes. Dr Marcus de Brun, who runs the Rush Family Practice in Co Dublin, also holds a degree in Microbiology from Trinity College Dublin. His letter of resignation accused the […]
In light of the Irish media’s widespread praise for yesterday’s Sunday Times article outlining the failures of the British Government, it might be worth taking a look at events in a similar timeframe closer to home. “38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster”, was the headline of the Sunday Times piece. Here’s what was happening […]
The burdens of high office are great indeed. Yesterday, as the UK media were salivating over a hard-hitting report in the Sunday Times into mistakes made by Boris Johnson’s Government, Ireland’s flagship Sunday Newspaper was publishing this interview with Simon Harris. Behold, the standard of questioning Irish politicians can expect to face, these days: Two […]
As of 17th April, 302 people have died from the virus in community care settings, which is 62% of all Covid-19 deaths, with 253 of those in nursing homes. Each day, we read on the news about how many cases and deaths there have been, how the curve is flattening, and whether we can ease […]