In the latest HSE news, The Chief Clinical Officer of the HSE Colm Henry has stated that there is some evidence that immunity may wane after six months and that annual vaccines may be needed in the fight against Covid.
The potential need for an annual vaccination program means many countries will have to learn from the rapid rollout seen in the early months of 2021. Colm Henry suggested that there has been evidence that immunity can wane:
“Hiqa has surveyed the question of immunity, whether it’s natural or vaccine-induced immunity, and we do see that there’s evidence of persistent antibodies for up to six months, with some waning after,”
Colm Henry
The need for an annual vaccination program has been discussed previously and many have pointed to the annual flu vaccinations needed to provide adequate protection to those most vulnerable to the public.
Cautious approach reinforced by messaging from UK’s Chief Medical Adviser
The news from the HSE may be indicative of a need to exercise caution against the virus with a similar message coming from Chris Witty this week encouraging the UK to exercise caution and not think that the pandemic is coming to a complete halt.
“A lot of people may think this is all over. It is very easy to forget how quickly things can turn bad,”
Christ Witty
The deaths and new cases for Covid remain high when compared to previous months in 2020 and whilst there has been a roadmap out of lockdown provided there still remains an overarching narrative that we are not out of the woods yet.
When relating this latest HSE News to health and safety and workplaces, not a great deal has changed. You should still follow the relevant social distancing guidance when working from home and make sure you are compliant to protect your business from prosecution and also keep your workers safe.
If you have any stories or questions you wish to put to our content partners, we can offer support on health and safety related queries around the pandemic and what it means for businesses going forward in 2021. Feel free to get in touch to ask a question or if you have any editorial queries.
