Galway Bay fm newsroom - The Chief Executive of the Saolta Hospital Group has moved to stress that the Covid 19 vaccination does work and this is evidenced in hospital settings across the West.
Tony Canavan told the HSE Health Forum West that the fourth wave is seeing less hospitalisations than that experienced during the height of the previous wave.
He told the meeting that there were over 300 virus patients in hospitals across the group during a period last January during the peak of the third wave.
This is compared to over 60 patients in hospital across the Saolta group on one day this week.
He said the vaccine has made a significant difference, with the ongoing booster campaign providing an additional level of cover.
The meeting heard there is a policy in place to address situations where healthcare staff in critical roles are unvaccinated, which is managed at a local healthcare site level.
Officials advised this is a relatively small number in the context of the total healthcare workforce.
