Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health that "there is so much infection out there in the population" that it is contributing to outbreaks in nursing homes.
He told Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway that this is the "force of infection". For those "who pick up the infection", its impact in terms of mortality "is of a much lower level" than previously, due to the vaccination programme, he added.
Latest figures show the number of people with Covid-19 in hospital fell below 300 this morning to 292, with 60 people in ICU.
Vaccine uptake levels are "almost unprecedented" in Ireland compared to the rest of the world, Dr Holohan said. "A high level of infection prevention and control" remains as