My article in todays Indo👇
‘It’s like f***ing a war zone. Casualties everywhere, wailing in agony.” Having languished on a trolley in a Covid-ridden hospital corridor for six days, immunocompromised from cancer treatment, 81-year-old Frank insisted on leaving. He would rather die at home in peace than on a hospital trolley.
Welcome to Ireland, the Somme of European healthcare.
Frank’s daughter, Mary (my friend), and siblings have been limiting social interactions since March 2020 to shield their father. Frank finally caught Covid in the one place sick people can’t avoid: hospital".
To be fair to Frank I've reinstated the F word that got edited out!
"The Government previously brushed off calls to reinstate mask mandates, arguing it “restricted people’s liberties”. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens’ liberties have been restricted since March 2020 but as long as they’re old, disabled or vulnerable, that’s acceptable? It’s not. There’s a legal requirement to ensure protected groups are not excluded from accessing goods and services, let alone essential services, such as public transport, school and healthcare.
Removing recognised public health protections, such as masks, is not just immoral, I would even argue it’s possibly illegal. Well-fitted FFP2/3 masks, worn universally and effectively, reduce infection"
"Professor Jack Lambert, who runs a long-Covid clinic in the Mater Hospital, bucked the trend recently by saying it like it is. He described Covid-19 as a scary virus. “It damages the brain and the immune system. I continue to wear my mask. I encourage people to take this virus seriously,” he said".
"Vaccines are waning, new variants are increasingly transmissible, infections don’t confer immunity, long-Covid can result from “mild” doses and unmitigated transmission is spawning new variants and reinfections. We urgently need a Vaccine Plus strategy (masks, testing, tracing, clean air, distancing, paid isolation)".
