The Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Explained

The Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Explained

In light of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, the Covid-19 Vaccine booster programme has been extended following the recommendations of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced new Covid measures with the vaccine booster rollout ramp up a key phase in combating the ‘fourth surge’ of Covid-19.

The latest figures show 4,407 recorded daily cases, of which 634 are in hospital with 119 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the ICU.

**accurate at time of writing visit Ireland’s COVID19 Data Hub (arcgis.com) for updated daily figures

The vaccine booster programme has already begun with over 400,000 booster doses already being administered to those aged 80+ and those living in care facilities, according to HSE CEO Paul Reid.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly explains they have already seen a positive impact on those who have received the booster,

“In Ireland, we have already seen that booster doses given to those aged 80 years and older have been followed by a sharp decline in case numbers in that age group. This is very welcome news, and I encourage all of those who are eligible for a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine to come forward and receive that vaccine as soon as it is available to you.”

During Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s address on Tuesday (November 16th) he announced that the NIAC have approved booster jabs for everyone over the age of 50 (a cohort of 600,000) and those under 50 with underlying illnesses in a bid to reduce Covid case numbers and relieve the pressures facing the HSE and Hospitals at present.

NIAC have pointed out that the risk of vaccinated people aged 50-59 years requiring hospitalisation and becoming seriously ill and dying is higher than in younger age groups, therefore they are next in the order of priority for booster vaccination.”

As a result of this latest change, over 2.5 million people will now be eligible for their booster vaccine

Why Get The Vaccine Booster Dose

The HSE and NIAC are recommending those 50+ should consider receiving the booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the protection of the vaccine can weaken with time especially as we age. There are also concerns that with the more infectious Delta variant spreading, coupled with the easing of restrictions, it has lead to the surge in cases and hospital admissions.

The booster dose has been approved by the European Medicines Agency however if you have any concerns, please contact your GP or Pharmacist.

Find out more here – boosterpatientinfo.pdf (hse.ie)

Who Can Get The Vaccine Booster Dose?

  • Anyone aged 50 years plus
  • All Healthcare workers under 60 years
  • Anyone aged 16-59 years who have an underlying condition
  • Residents of irrespective or age or underlying conditions

You can only receive the booster vaccine if you have been double vaccinated and no sooner than 5 months after your second dose of your initial vaccine.

What Is The Vaccine Booster Dose?

All booster recipients will be given a single mRNA dose of Comirnaty® (Pfizer BioNTech) or Spikevax® (Moderna) regardless of which type of vaccine they initially received two doses of i.e. you received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine but will received a Pfizer booster dose.

For more information visit https://www.ema.europa.eu/en or COVID-19 vaccines – HSE.ie

How To Get Your Vaccine Booster Dose

  • You cannot receive your booster shot at a walk-in centre.
  • There is no registration needed.
  • Appointments will be issued by your GP or you will receive an SMS from the HSE with your appointment details.
  • If you cannot attend your appointment or are unable to leave your home contact HSELive on 1800 700 700 to reschedule.
  • Anyone in Long-term Residential care will not need to attend an appointment, they will be vaccinated at home.
  • If you are a frontline healthcare worker, you will be invited for your booster vaccine once 6 months has elapsed from your second dose.

Healthcare Workers and the Booster

The HSE advises that most Healthcare workers will receive their booster appointment within the next six weeks.  All healthcare workers under the age of 60 are expected to receive their booster vaccine by the end of December, with those aged 60+ already being called alongside the over 60 cohort.

For those who have become a healthcare worker after they received their second dose of the initial vaccine, you may need to register on the HSE, a service that is pending rollout.

However if you need to receive your booster vaccine quickly and have surpassed 6 months since your second dose details on how to get in contact are available here.

What If I Had Covid Recently?

The HSE is recommending that anyone that has been double vaccinated and since contracted Covid-19 will be invited to receive their booster shot six months after their Covid-19 diagnosis.

Can I Still Get The Flu Shot?

The NIAC and CDC, have also recommended that the seasonal influenza vaccine and Covid-19 booster can be administered at the same time, but advise to use different limbs (arms).

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Professional Homecare Bill 2020

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Myhomecare.ie have welcomed the recently announced Professional Home Care Bill 2020, amendments to the Health Act 2007. This new legislation is designed to provide regulation in the area of professional home care.

Amendments were introduced in the areas of assessment of needs & care planning, complaints procedures, standards of care, protection from abuse and training of personnel. Myhomecare are proud to have already demonstrated an understanding and focus in these areas.

These amendments regard the following general principles as they apply to adults:

· The principal of independent living

· The principal of privacy & dignity

· The principal of quality of care

· The principal of protection of the adult

Myhomecare.ie’s assessment of care needs have included companionship and advanced care planning as standard practice across all of our services for many years. We have also developed and introduced an extensive patient safety programme in 2019. Through this programme we continue to monitor and collect data in the areas of medication management, fall risks and infection control.

ISO9001 accreditation – Quality Management System

Myhomecare successfully maintained ISO9001 accreditation again for 2020 and continue year on year to strive for this very respected achievement. Our care standards are of the highest quality and our mission is to always put our clients and carers needs and feedback first. All of the business operations are audited externally every year to ensure that we are compliant with our quality management system. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtually zero paperwork was used which was another huge achievement for Myhomecare as the audit usually takes place onsite, with all policies, processes and documentation printed out in advance.

JCI Gold Seal accreditation

We have also secured the JCI Gold Seal accreditation for 2020. This reaffirms we are operating a quality service with a core focus on client safety and our dedication to clients and their families. With the JCI award, we are now one of an exclusive group of 24 homecare companies globally who have attained the required standard and the only one in Ireland in our sector.

We now work alongside the JCI team to sustain their standards while continuing to strive for improvement in delivery for all clients receiving care in line with the accreditation’s credo. Paula Wilson, President and CEO of JCI, commended Myhomecare for the dedication to improving services and praised the resilience of everyone involved for persevering during a global pandemic: “JCI commends Myhomecare for its efforts to become a quality improvement organisation and achieving international accreditation which highlights their commitment to patient safety“.

A safer, better homecare

Circumstances this year with the onset of Covid-19 has helped change our business model to a more online presence. Implementing the best technology solutions available and ensuring quality of service are fundamental to us as we try to emerge from the covid crisis even stronger than before.

Our Client Portal is accessible via our website myhomecare.ie and provides access to several different resources, which includes our feedback form. We also provide our clients with an Education Pack which has information on a range of different topics from Nutrition, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Fire Safety etc.

Our dedicated recruiters and compliance officer ensure that all our care personnel are up to date with necessary training requirements and we ensure this is possible with continuous support from our own Servisource Training division.

The Myhomecare team continue to lead the way in Ireland in delivering a superior quality service by ensuring our standards are in line with the new government regulations. Myhomecare utilise lean methodologies ensuring we are continuously improving our services. Our quality management system allows us to regularly review and maintain our policies and procedures, enabling us to work in unison to a high standard.

Homecare is not just confined to older people. It includes those who develop a chronic illness, those who have a physical or mental disability or those who are recovering at home after surgery or an illness. Myhomecare.ie deliver the highest quality of safe person centred care, meeting each service user’s individual needs using a holistic approach in accordance with the National Standards of Safer, Better Healthcare and Homecare.

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