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Members of a taskforce on Covid-19 testing have actually said that opportunities were lost previously this year which would have “transformed the effectiveness” of the State’s testing and tracing system.
Some members of the group, which was developed following a request from an advisory group to the National Public Health Emergency Situation Team(Nphet), also criticised the government response to a report it provided in early April.
The report, launched to The Irish Times under Flexibility of Information, called for the facility of an expert group to oversee technique and general co-ordination of the screening regime.
It also suggested the involvement of the private sector in the group, and a more widespread usage of antibody testing.
The report flagged logistical issues about polymerase domino effect (PCR) testing, which is the bedrock of the State’s testing strategy, arguing that “current and increased scale of PCR screening is beyond the capacity of specific co-ordinators with more robust governance, management and co-ordination structures being needed”.
It said that personnels and infrastructure in universities, industry and research centres are “not being maximally realised or made use of”.
Prof Paul Moynagh of NUI Maynooth, who convened the taskforce, stated: “In my view, opportunities were lost early in the pandemic to carry out essential structures with the ideal knowledge that would have changed the performance and workings of our nationwide screening and tracing infrastructure.
” Scaling of screening was not attained when substantial capability was needed and the most significant catastrophe was the sluggishness and absence of combination of testing and tracing suggested that, to date, it has actually had extremely little, if any direct impact on restricting transmission of the infection,” he added.
He also stated it was “frustrating that it doesn’t appear that significant factor to consider was provided to the report or its suggestions”.
Overlooked
Fellow taskforce member Dr Tomás Ryan, associate teacher in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, stated he was disappointed that “the core tactical and clinical recommendations of the proposition were disregarded”.
He stated the existing testing system “is untried and unprepared for the purpose of preventing a second surge”.
Kingston Mills, professor of experimental immunology at Trinity, stated he “got no feedback from the document that was composed”. He stated this was “disappointing” as the taskforce had significant experience in immunology that Nphet did not have.
Taskforce member Prof William Gallagher, director of the UCD Conway Institute, stated he “would not be as worried as some of my other colleagues”. He said the Health Service Executive had established a different group on screening logistics and that “eventually there were specific things that weren’t preferably done, however from my perspective they’ve done a pretty good job”.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health challenged the idea that ideas from the taskforce had actually been neglected, stating Nphet had actually thought about and authorized a proposal that a Covid-19 screening method group be developed in early April, and the group was established on April 21 st.
She stated Nphet welcomed views on screening, however relied on recommendations from the World Health Organisation and European Centre for Disease Avoidance and Control, and its own subscription.
She stated a strategic structure for screening had been prepared by a subgroup of the emergency group, and was backed on Might 22 nd. She said antibody screening is presently being deployed in a study to approximate the frequency of immunity in the general population.
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