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ALMOST TWO YEARS on from passing laws allowing for a minimum price on units of alcohol, the government has failed to implement them and campaigners say the current Covid-19 crisis means the logic in enacting them is “is as relevant today, if not more so, than any other time”.
The argument had been made that if this jurisdiction brought the measure in before Northern Ireland did, it could drive consumers over the border but this claim is “even more tenuous” given the current stay-at-home guidelines according to Alcohol Action Ireland.
Answering a parliamentary question last week, Health Minister Simon Harris said he has written to his Northern Irish counterpart Robin Swann.
He said he was “willing to wait for simultaneous introduction” but added he wasn’t willing to “wait forever” to implement this “important public health measure”.
Bringing in minimum pricing doesn’t appear to be something that will happen very soon in Northern Ireland, however.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson for the Northern Irish Department of Health said it will be “considering the measure” and added it wanted to see what effect this measure was having in Scotland and Wales, which have already brought it in.
What is minimum pricing?
Minimum unit pricing is a set cost below which alcohol can’t be sold. It is a section of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 that has not yet been commenced.
The Act states that the cheapest price for a gram of alcohol is 10 cent. A standard drink has 10 grams of alcohol in it, meaning the lowest price for one standard drink is now €1.
A standard drink is half a pint of beer/lager/stout, a small 100ml glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits.
This might sound cheap, but most drinks are marked up in price for retailers and pubs/clubs so it will mainly affect very cheap drinks with strong alcohol content.
Analysis from TheJournal.ie has shown that the cost of many major brands of beer wouldn’t be required to increase beyond their current level under minimum pricing.
There are several studies that point to only the most “harmful drinkers” being affected by minimum pricing, while responsible drinkers on modest incomes aren’t penalised.
After the measure was brought in in Scotland, alcohol sales went down. According to a study in the British Medical Journal, “it appears to have been successful in reducing the amount of alcohol purchased by households in Scotland”.
Public Health Alcohol Bill
Long-delayed and heavily lobbied upon, the Public Health Alcohol Bill was finally enacted in late-2018.
As well as minimum pricing, it also provides for restrictions around alcohol advertising and what warning labels would need to be on products.
All along, the policy from the government here had been to implement minimum pricing at the same time as Northern Ireland.
Minister Harris said last week that if both jurisdictions implemented the measures at the same time it would “ensure that its effectiveness cannot be diminished by the availability of cheaper alcohol across the border”.
However, as Northern Ireland didn’t have a government in place for over two years this was effectively put on hold.
Despite the Irish government passing the laws that would allow them to bring in minimum pricing in October 2018, it has so far held back.
With the Stormont Assembly now back up and running and still no sign of this measure, it looks likely that it’ll be the job of the new government here of whether to plough ahead anyway.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Eunan McKinney who is the head of communication and advocacy at Alcohol Action Ireland said with the gap between north and south, “it has been clear, for some time, that this may be an insurmountable matter”.
“[We] believe the rationale to enact and commence minimum unit pricing is as relevant today, if not more so, than any other time,” he said.
“The issue at the heart of this measure is to ensure that cheap, strong alcohol, widely available throughout the off-sales retail landscape, is removed from the market.
This will ensure a modest reduction in consumption amongst the hazardous drinkers and to a lesser degree the whole of a drinking population. This will lead to reduction in acute alcohol episodes and better health outcomes for the drinkers of such cheap, strong alcohol.
Specifically in the context of the current Covid-19 crisis - with pubs closed and alcohol only available off-trade – McKinney said his organisation had witnessed “reckless behaviour” in the pricing of some alcohol in shops.
“The current demand from the drinking population with on-sales prohibited, for alcohol from off-sales has fuelled a price-war within the alcohol industry,” he said. “Many products, including premium brands, have been retailing at between 25 and 50% discount of what would be a minimum unit price.”
McKinney added that it wasn’t just the price of alcohol that influenced whether shoppers went north of the border, and it also depending on factors like the exchange rate, the VAT differential and also how close they were to the border.
For many, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, that option is closed to them now anyway.
“The current COVID travel restrictions, were they to prevail, certainly makes the argument even more tenuous,” he added.
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Waiting in line for your 56th booster shot to stop the 89th variant that comes with the 23rd wave
@Bad Bunny: thanks for typing out a meme we’ve all seen
@Brendan Harlowe: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Came to me in the shower. I know. I know. I’m gifted.
@Brendan Harlowe: Finally some gratitude.
@Bad Bunny: Booster vaccination generates super immunity similar to the enhanced immunity elicited after vaccinating someone who previously caught the virus months earlier, this enhanced immunity protects against all variants and likely future variants, and the immunity likely lasts at least 9 months.
This super immunity is generated by spacing out the first vaccination and 3rd does by several months.
“A team co-led by Andrés Finzi, a virologist at the University of Montreal, Canada, found that people who received this regimen had SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels similar to those in people with hybrid immunity 10. These antibodies could neutralize a swathe of SARS-CoV-2 variants — as well as the virus behind the 2002–04 SARS epidemic. “We are able to bring naive people to almost the same level as previously infected and vaccinated, which is our gold standard,” says Finzi.”
10. Tauzin, A., Gong, S.Y., et al. 2021. Strong Humoral Immune Responses against SARS-CoV-2 Spike after BNT162b2 MRNA Vaccination with a 16-Week Interval between Doses.
COVID super-immunity: one of the pandemic’s great puzzles
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02795-x
@David Jordan: Jaysus you really need to get out. Every covid article your all over it like a rash
@David Jordan: when can we expect super duper immunity?
@Seosamh Ohuaine: I do have my work cut out because so many are posting misinformation.
Basically, a high uptake of the booster could end this, we might even reach herd immunity, as the vaccine strongly protects against Delta. But people think it’s no better than before and will wear off quick, so might not bother.
But the immunity provided by the booster is different, stronger and longer lasting. It has been said recently, that full vaccination should be 3 doses, so people understand that the vaccine isn’t faulty, it’s a 3 dose vaccine.
@Bad Bunny: New HPSC update came a day early this week.
Main points since last week’s update:
-48 total COVID ICU admissions
20 unvaccinated
28 with at least one dose
23 fully vaccinated
-45 COVID deaths
0 unvaccinated
45 with at least one dose
41 fully vaccinated
hpsc.ie/a-z/respirator…
@richard grace: Facts:
Between Oct 9 and Nov 6, there were a total of 237 reported COVID-19 deaths, of which 138 (58%) were fully vaccinated and 99 (42%) were unvaccinated (a few had one dose, which offers little protection against Delta).
There are 1.5 million people in Ireland over 50 and >98% are fully vaccinated (unchanged since the end July, more than 2 months before Oct 9th). There are 1.46 million fully vaccinated and 26,000 who remain unvaccinated over 50 year-olds.
Now let’s look at the death rate for vaccinated v’s unvaccinated over 50-year-olds.
138 deaths / 1.46 million fully vaccinated = 0.01%
99 deaths / 26,000 unvaccinated = 0.38%
Unvaccinated (>50) were 38 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to someone who is vaccinated.
@David Jordan: I hope you’re right David. I agree, though, many will not bother as people were sold on the vaccines being the key out of this. Now that that isn’t the case many more will not bother taking a booster.
@David Jordan: Hope you’re right David I always look for real facts figures and science. Lately not sure what to believe misinformation is ridiculous now.
@Bad Bunny: The delta variant is 2x more deadly and 4x more contagious than the virus we faced last year. It is not the same thing. And people’s immunity fails off a cliff after 6-7 months.
I worry the same thing will happen here as happened in Israel (who vaccinated before us). Only after the hospitals fill up with lots of middle-aged people will people get scared, then will we see cues for the booster shot.
Their last wave was due to waning immunity, it was ended by the booster shot.
https://www.google.com/search?channel=crow5&client=firefox-b-d&q=israel+covid
@David Jordan: just lol
@Roisin Lyons: every week? You guys really have this figured out
@David Jordan: “I do have my work cut out because so many are posting misinformation.”
Nobody with a ounce of sense is taking COVID guidance from commentators on the Journal.
At what stage do the vaccine certs “expire” if you don’t get a booster?
@Stop the Lights: You dont honestly think the government have thought of that do you.
@Stop the Lights: That is a good question.
@Stop the Lights: I suspect they will crack down when we start hitting the 5th wave in the summer
@Stop the Lights: They shouldn’t.
@Stop the Lights: 9 – 10 months, possibly longer. Also, the immunity after the booster is as strong as after vaccination but likely additionally protects against variants, including Delta. This super immunity (or hybrid immunity) is generated by spacing out the doses by several months. The same effect is seen in people who are vaccinated months after COVID infection, their antibody levels shoot up extremely high after vaccination and they could neutralize variants including Delta.
Tauzin, A., Gong, S.Y., et al. 2021. Strong Humoral Immune Responses against SARS-CoV-2 Spike after BNT162b2 MRNA Vaccination with a 16-Week Interval between Doses.
COVID super-immunity: one of the pandemic’s great puzzles
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02795-x
@Stop the Lights: Macron announced a measure like that last week in France
@Stop the Lights: The EU Digital COVID Cert can enforce a validity period, yes. It does this already for PCR Tests (72 hours) and those who have recovered from COVID-19 (180 days). It was noted by the Commission on the 31st May that the validity of the vaccine certs would be adjusted depending on “emerging scientific evidence as to the length of protection of the different vaccines”
So people will have to get 4 J&J vaccines per year in order to be protected? That’s not practical at all. The new normal is not good.
@ShaneO’Mac: what?
@ShaneO’Mac: They won’t be getting the J&J vaccine again, the booster would be Pfizer or Moderna so no won’t be getting 4 a year. I would say people who originally got this one have very little immunity at this stage and especially since Delta took over.
@ShaneO’Mac: tip for ya, Shane, the usual way this works is you read the article and THEN you write a comment. Sometimes the headline doesn’t give the whole picture.
@ShaneO’Mac: huh?
@ShaneO’Mac: say what?
HAHAHAHAHAHA
Baaaaa
@alan: humbug
@alan: hahahahaha that made me lol
This is how the media twists the narrative from the vaccines are 95% effective… Well they probably work for three months, let’s face it, it’s herd immunity or bust
12 weeks. So it’s basically the equivalent of the first dose of the other vaccines?
Maybe as this progresses we could get weekly top ups at work and have the payments come out of our wages
New HPSC update came a day early this week.
Main points since last week’s update:
-48 total COVID ICU admissions
20 unvaccinated
28 with at least one dose
23 fully vaccinated
-45 COVID deaths
0 unvaccinated
45 with at least one dose
41 fully vaccinated
hpsc.ie/a-z/respirator…
@richard grace: where on the website do you get this info?
@Declan Edward: Link here Declan. https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/surveillance/vaccinationstatusweeklyreports/
They delete last week’s records so you need to keep them & manually compare the figures yourself.
@Dave: thank you, very generous
@Dave: also this has lot of interesting data with same delay: https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-covid19/covid-19informationhub/health/covid-19deathsandcasesstatistics/
@Dave: Last time you will see breakdown between vaccinated and unvaccinated in thise hse and cso figures.. check next week. Wonder why they will stop breaking it down.. doesnt suit the narrative anymore? Stake Vaccinated people in hospital take over…
I have the booster. Will it be on my vax passport?
@Gareth Wogan: you might get a sticker if you ask nicely
so there has been data on the single shot vaccine from J+J Jansen which shows that thee efficacy drops from 85+% down to just 13.1% after 8 months – i don’t suppose our great National Public Health Emergency team will take any flak for coming out now with the need for boosters ( on November 18th) sayong the wndow needs to be shortened to 3 months – almost a full year after we started our vaccine program – Ireland spends more time self congratulating themselves about how we are amazeballs with our vax program when the truth is – if we had started boosters months and months ago we would. not be seeing these surges in hospitals now – they have to own it – their management is increasingly looking worse by the day – how come so many other countries likee the UK managed to fully reopen and ar not predicting anything like the levels of infections per thousand for next 2 months -m what makes Irland so unique – its not like we have done EVERYTHING they asked – lockdown -get vaxxed -wear masks work from home self isolate – and yet hre we are – worse than Wuhan – facing a xmas with much worse projections ? Anyone. know why ???
Why was my comment deleted about the FDA seeking 55 years to fully disclose the data that Pfizer submitted to them to gain approval for their vaccine?
It’s like a drug peddler give you the first few fixes for free then hit you when you have to have it.
have your say