Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the two teams to the meeting and thank them for their ongoing work.

I have some questions for both teams, start with three quick ones for Dr. Holohan. There is a great deal of confusion about what level of vaccination is required to achieve herd immunity. We have a large young population, many of whom, and certainly the under-12s, will not be getting the vaccine for some time. The teenaged cohort is only being vaccinated now. At what point would Dr. Holohan say that herd immunity will be achieved in the overall population? What percentage is required?

My second question is on antigen testing. Given the high level of vaccination and the requirement to get back to work and other activities, does Dr. Holohan see a role at this point for antigen testing as a screening tool?

My third question is on public health messaging. Why is it that the issue of ventilation always seems to be an afterthought?

Reference has been made to reminding people about hand washing, but we do not seem to be talking about ventilation to the same extent. Is that aspect not as important, if not more important?