A prominent Clare GP has expressed fear that primary care will be under considerable strain in the new year, as pressure begins to ease on hospitals.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 now accounts for almost three quarters of cases in Ireland, with 7,411 new infections confirmed yesterday.
The number of Covid patients in intensive care has fallen to its lowest level in over six weeks, with 89 people receiving critical care at the moment and a total of 393 confirmed cases in hospital.
Ennis GP, Dr Marie Finn says the hope is that the new variant will lead to reduced hospitalisation, but she fears that with GPs told to prioritise booster vaccines over primary care in recent weeks, the wrong message has been sent out.