A leading GP has said she thinks a new antiviral drug to treat Covid-19 will not have a significant impact in fighting the virus in the short term.
Dr Mary Favier, from the Irish College of General Practitioners and a member of NPHET, said people's behaviour will be the most important factor in reducing transmission.
It comes as Pfizer announced on Tuesday that its antiviral pill is "highly effective when it comes to protecting people from severe disease from Covid-19".
Pfizer said that Paxlovid, an experimental drug, was also found to be effective against the Omicron variant.
The pill is being hailed by some as a "gamechanger" when it comes to fighting the virus.
“This news provides further corroboration that our oral antiviral candidate if authorized or approved, could have a meaningful impact on the lives of many, as the data further support the efficacy of Paxlovid in reducing hospitalisation and death and show a substantial decrease in viral load," said Albert Bourla, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer.
"This underscores the treatment candidate’s potential to save the lives of patients around the world.
“Emerging variants of concern, like Omicron, have exacerbated the need for accessible treatment options for those who contract the virus, and we are confident that, if authorized or approved, this potential treatment could be a critical tool to help quell the pandemic.”
However, according to Cork GP Dr Mary Favier, it will not be the main way to suppress the virus in Ireland in the coming weeks.
"It could be but it's a very small part of it, we really just want [Covid] to not be there," she told RTE's Morning Ireland.
"The details haven't yet been worked out, it hasn't been worked out when you'll get it, who will prescribe it, what will be the criteria for prescription.
"I think it would be a false hope to think that's going to have any real impact over the next few weeks or months as we deal with this surge.
"It's going to come down to us as individuals and how we all behave over the next number of weeks.
"People should remember that if they have a Covid positive test tomorrow, they are now in isolation on Christmas Day so it's our personal behaviours in the next few days that will make a difference to how we manage Christmas and how we manage the next surge."
Dr Favier added that the Omicron variant will pose a huge challenge for Ireland's health system if infections surge.
“At the moment we’re getting about 15 people in hospital for every 1,000 infections – very much down from the 50 per 1,000 before vaccination so very good," she said.
“Even if Omicron only gave you five per 1,000, which would be so much better, if you have 10 times more cases unfortunately you’ve got 50 people in hospital instead of five and it’s a really significant surge,”
