More than one person a day died of Covid in October as total deaths top 8,000
Number Covid 386 Of But With People Had Hospitals Again Over 19 Last Slightly Week, In Been The To Dropping The Increased Today This
Over 8,000 people have now died from Covid-19 in Ireland, the latest figures show as the virus continues to affect the population.
Up to Halloween the figures show 8,066 people had died, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said. This includes 17 deaths during the last two weeks of October, more than one a day.
Overall counting from the start of the pandemic Dublin remains the county with the highest number of Covid-deaths at 2,637, followed by Cork with 721 and Kildare with 432.
Counties across Munster have been heavily impacted throughout the pandemic, with 363 deaths in Limerick and 196 in Tipperary. In Clare, 195 people have died with Covid-19, in Waterford 187 and in Kerry 179.
Leitrim has seen the fewest number of Covid deaths per county overall at 44.
The number of people with Covid-19 in hospitals had been dropping over the last week, but this increased slightly again today to 386. This includes people admitted specifically for Covid-19 care and people with other conditions and asymptomatic Covid-19.
Intensive care numbers remain low at 15. These figures have not passed 50 since mid-April as vaccination continues to limit severity of the disease.
Meanwhile, however, a British study has found confidence in vaccines has declined "significantly".
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth carried out two anonymous surveys in the winters of 2019 and 2022 to gauge people's attitudes to vaccinations and to look at what factors cause hesitancy and refusal.
After questioning more than 1,000 adults, they found that the post-pandemic group was considerably less confident about vaccines than the pre-pandemic group.
The study, published in the medical journal , showed a fall in confidence of nearly one in four participants since 2020, regardless of age, gender, religious belief, education or ethnicity.
School of Biological Sciences associate head Dr Alessandro Siani said: "While vaccine hesitancy is not a new phenomenon, Covid-19 vaccines have been met with particular hostility despite the overwhelming scientific evidence of their safety and effectiveness.
Participants were asked how much they agreed with statements including "Vaccines are safe", "I think vaccines should be a compulsory practice", "I believe if I get vaccinated it would benefit the wellbeing of others" and "Vaccines are a necessity for our health and wellbeing".
In both surveys participants who held religious beliefs were significantly more vaccine-hesitant than atheist and agnostic ones, and individuals from black and Asian backgrounds were more hesitant than those of white ethnicities.
The HSE booster campaign continues for over-50s and younger people who are immunocompromised as well as pregnant women and healthcare workers.
They recently began sending texts to people age 60 to 64 reminding them they are eligible for second Covid-19 booster.