Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 15 September 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Update on Covid-19: Discussion

Photo of Annie HoeyAnnie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have questions on three areas. My first question will circle back to children and the idea of mask mandates. As has been said, there will not be a recommendation around vaccination for children. It was inevitable that there would be an enormous number of children being tested and in and out of school. Dr. Butler said that infection can build immunity. How can we marry those things? I have heard commentary to the effect that if children get Covid, it is not as serious and the evidence would imply that it could, perhaps, boost their immunity.

How do we marry the two? We have children who are being sent home and who cannot go to school. The restrictions are quite hefty in school settings. Obviously, school settings have more than just children in them; there are teachers, special needs assistants, clerical staff, janitors and so on. We are being contacted by lots of parents whose children are just not in school. How do we tie those two together? How do we speak to parents about this because there is a great deal of concern out there? I ask Professor Butler to provide a little clarity on that.

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