Ennis GP Believes ‘Herd Immunity’ May Be Reached Before End Of September

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An Ennis GP believes the country may reach ‘herd immunity’ from COVID-19 by the end of September.

It comes as Public Health Midwest is warning people across the county to remain vigilant amid a sharp increase in the number of new cases here.

There were 238 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Clare in the 14 days up to Monday according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre – a more than 50% increase on the previous fortnight.

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Shannon has the highest incidence of the virus in this county, with 77 cases there in the last two weeks leaving its prevalence per 100,000 people at 253.3.

It comes as public health officials locally are warning people in the Ennis area to be vigilant amid an outbreak of concern across the district.

It’s understood the outbreak involves a local sports team.

On Tuesday of this week, 24 new cases were confirmed in this county – one of the highest daily increases since the tail end of the third wave in February.

Dr Anne Dee, Specialist in Public Health Medicine with Public Health Midwest is urging people across the county to exercise caution this weekend.

Despite the rise in cases an Ennis GP is urging optimism among the public across the county.

Dr Maire Finn believes the continued successful rollout of the vaccine programme to 12 to 15 year olds will bear fruit in the coming weeks.

She says some semblance of a normal life is possible by the end of next month.

The head of the HSE says adults should be fully vaccinated by the end of this month.

The latest figures show 89 per cent of adults have received at least one vaccine dose, while 76 per cent are fully protected.

6 million doses have now been administered across the country.

Paul Reid says the vaccination programme is four weeks ahead of schedule.

Clare FM’s Sally Ann Barrett reports: