Author name: oisinkelly

A leading medical professor says a new anti-viral drug – in combination with vaccines – could lead to the end of the Covid 19 pandemic in Ireland by next Spring. Paul Moynagh’s comments follow the announcement by Pfizer that it’s new drug Paxlovid cuts the risk of hospitalisation or death by 89 percent in vulnerable

The Minister for Health is asking people to pull back on their social contacts. Stephen Donnelly says we’re now at a pre-pandemic level of social contact, which is driving a certain amount of cases. His comments come as 3,903 new cases of Covid-19 were announced yesterday, with 425 people in hospital last night – 76

The Tánaiste says he is hopeful a pill to treat Covid could soon be cleared for use in Ireland. The UK yesterday became the first country in the world to approve the use of Molnupiravir, which has been developed by US pharmaceutical company Merck. In clinical trials, the drug cut the risk of being hospitalised

  Buy Donegal has officially kicked off today to showcase the best of Donegal business. The campaign provides an opportunity for businesses across the county to highlight their products and services and to encourage people to buy them. The campaign, now in its second year, runs until December 31st 2021. Director of Services at Donegal

  A Donegal Pharmacist says there is frustration among the pharmacy community over not being able to utilise their daily Covid-19 vaccine supply for booster shots. This week it emerged that one pharmacist in the county disposed of 24 leftover vaccines as they are prohibited to administer them as a booster. Local Pharmacist Margret O’Doherty

  People are being reminded that pop-up vaccination clinics are getting underway in three Donegal Towns today. The centres will be available in the Colgan Hall in Carndonagh, The Gateway Hotel in Buncrana and the St. Mary’s parish Hall in Stranorlar. The clinics are open from 12 noon today and are also running tomorrow and

  Options for apprenticeships and further education will be included in the CAO portal for the first time today. It goes live at 12 noon, when students can check out cao-dot-ie forward slash options. The full range of third level options will be available to apply for through a central portal. Minister of State for

  Ireland continues to have the highest Covid vaccination rate in the European Union. Over 92 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated, which is just ahead of Malta and Portugal. Bulgaria has the lowest rate, at 26 per cent – while the EU average is less than 76 per cent. Donegal GP Ciarán Ó

  Sinn Féin is the most popular party in Northern Ireland – but is less than 3 per cent ahead of the DUP. 23.5 per cent of voters will back Mary Lou McDonald’s party in the next Assembly election, which will be held before next May. According to a University of Liverpool poll, 20.6 per

  The Agriculture Minister says ‘significantly’ more jobs will be created in the farming sector in the next nine years – despite a dramatic fall in emissions. The Climate Action Plan calls for agriculture to cut emissions by 22 to 30 per cent by 2030. The agri-food sector employs over 164,000 people, which makes up

  There are renewed calls for the cliff rescue service at the Bunbeg Coast Guard Station to be restored as a matter of urgency. While the Bunbeg Coast Guard had been providing the service it had been removed a number of years ago due to budget cutbacks. Cllr Michael Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig says that due

  A Donegal Deputy is calling on the Government to expand the SUSI student grant scheme, to help more people attending college whose families earn some the lowest incomes in the country. Deputy Thomas Pringle says that eligibility for a SUSI “top-up” grant should be expanded to all those attending third level education that currently

The head of the HSE says the current levels of Covid-19 are causing “significant and unrelenting” pressure on the health service. There are 458 people in hospital with the virus – that’s down 29 on this day last week, but still a rise on two weeks ago. 90 Covid patients are now in intensive care

A leading pharmacist in Donegal says that his pharmacies are now being made to dump vials of out-of-date Covid-19 vaccines, in part because pharmacies have not been allowed to participate in the booster vaccination programme. Director of Healthwise Pharmacies James Cassidy says that at one pharmacy of his alone, there were 6 vials of Covid-19

A Donegal GP says it’s likely Covid cases are being missed because people are using antigen tests when they display symptoms, and if those tests are negative, they assume they are Covid free and do not isolate. Speaking to Greg Hughes on the Nine til Noon Show this morning, Dr Ciaran O’Fearraigh said the results

A Midlands North West MEP says farming sustainability is not a zero sum game, where environmental action comes at a cost to the farmer. Luke Ming Flanagan says Taoiseach Michael Martin has been making the right noises at the COP 26, and Minister Charlie McConalouge must now match the rhetoric and fine words with actions

Concern has been expressed after it emerged that the cabinet will not now sign off on a revised Mica redress scheme on Tuesday next. The following Tuesday, November 16th is now the more likely date. On today’s Nine Til Noon Show, Mica Action Group PRO Michael Doherty told Greg Hughes that the delay is down

Covid 19 continues to impact people waiting on elective surgeries, with a 77% increase in the seven-day average over the past three weeks. It now stands at 2,612 – compared to 1,477 on October 13th. NPHET says the future is ‘very uncertain’ and is urging people to reduce their social contacts immediately. Only a small