Covid 'still a factor' in people's lives - expert

Assistant Professor in Virology at Trinity College Dublin, Dr Kim Roberts, has said that while Covid-19 is still a factor in our lives people are not necessarily recognising it.

Dr Roberts told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that there are still disruptions in society because of the high transmission rates of the virus - people are getting sick, they are needing to take time out of work, and that then has an impact in how society is running.

However, she said that the vaccine rollout here has been a huge success. "One of the success stories for Ireland is the very, very high uptake of the vaccines and the vaccines are successfully reducing disease severity," she said. "So that means that fewer people, far fewer people are needing hospital care, so we're not seeing the same level of impact on hospitals as we were in previous waves." Dr Roberts explained that the vaccines are having less of an effect at reducing transmission and reinfection, "so we are seeing a lot of virus around at the moment." She said data suggests that certainly for the next few years we should expect multiple waves of Covid infections. "Not everyone will get infected during every wave, but if we're having two, three, possibly even four waves of Covid a year, that does mean that people can get infected once a year, possibly twice a year, and again that causes disruption to people's lives." Read more:Covid-19 pandemic 'nowhere near over' - WHOLatest coronavirus stories Dr Roberts said this will also impact on how people are supported when they are sick.

She said there needs to be more long-term strategies around dealing with Covid-19 because the virus "isn't going away, it is adapting and changing".