What also should be factored into the equation is the fact that cancer diagnostics, screening and treatment probably wont be fully operation until the end of the year. Inevitably slow vaccination roll out will stymie these efforts further. Does anyone model these potential deaths due to early mitigation opportunities being missed?
They are tying themselves up in knots on this and are close to having to admit Covid is no risk to people under 60 if a one in a million chance of a fatal blood clot stops vaccine roll out
NIAC’s remit seems to look at the vaccine and weigh up the risk as a whole based on statistics of those who are likely to die from the blood clots from AZ versus those likely to die from COVID without having the AZ, with categorisations around age
No mention on society as a whole, and as you alluded to, the crucial situation with cancer treatment much more likely to actually kill people, and the fact that delay a vaccine roll out could well impact this, probably more likely that anyone dying from a blood clot.
This advice is passed then to the CMO and to the Minister for Health, No one seems to be asking the right questions and take NIAC’s word as is (within the narrow confines of their terms of reference), unable or unwilling to challenge it.
Also, it appears that NIAC reports to the CMO office. Tony nicely sidestepped this question before when he said that NIAC reports to the Minister for Health.
The governance of this is all over the place. NIAC was set up around the vaccination roll out time, kind of linked to NPHET and kind of reporting to the CMO, but not really. These issues are now really beginning to come home to roost.
In business parlance it would be a series of dotted line reporting and relationships with no real joined up thinking or accountability. It is a very dysfunctional and only serves to protect self interest first. NPHET are happy to roll with the advice from NIAC because they can use the blunt instrument of lockdown without any push back from government. Meanwhile society continues to suffer.
Belgium did 114k one day last week. Irish equivalent (49k)
Germany did 720k. Irish equivalent (42k)
Austria did 70k. Irish equivalent (39k)
France did 490k. Irish equivalent (36k)
I think the max Ireland have done in a day is slightly over 30k. Now that supply is no longer a constraint this is where the HSE and govt get found out.
I’ve posted this before but if you look at the membership of NIAC, they first name on the list is the Deputy CMO. It’s basically a similar make up as NPHET, top officials from D/Health the CMOs office and the HSE with a few independents thrown in.
It’s essentially senior officials from the same organisations that work with each other day in day out sitting on two different committees. The notion that they operate independently of each other is a nonsense.