Message from our editor

Welcome to Health Matters and hope is certainly the theme of this latest edition.

We have had many false dawns over the last two years but it is hard not to feel that we have finally emerged through that long dark tunnel of the COVID-19 pandemic and out into the daylight once again.

The days are getting longer and brighter and the easing of so many restrictions mean that we can finally smile – and see others smile again.

It has been an unprecedented two years, particularly for staff up and down the health service. We speak to staff from around the country who share with us the highs and lows of the pandemic, what they missed the most and what they are looking forward to doing now that much of the country returns to a renewed sense of normality.

It has been the collective effort of people that has brought us to this point – we have done all that has been asked of us – wore masks, kept our distance and availed of the COVID vaccines for ourselves and our loved ones. Now is the time to enjoy the results of all those efforts.

The team at Mallow Community Vaccination Centre give us a unique insight into their time on the vaccination frontline, noting how the whole experience will live long in the hearts and minds of those who experienced this ‘history in the making’.

Staff at the Cavan-based HSE Vaccination Centre donned superhero costumes in recent months to create a more inviting space and welcoming experience for children attending. The centre, like so many others, was decorated in an appropriately child-friendly manner and among the superheroes and characters in attendance were Action Man, Spiderman and Snow White.

COVID certainly hasn’t disappeared but we hope that we can all enjoy a bright spring and summer ahead.

A sincere thanks to all those who have sent in contributions to this edition and I hope you find plenty of interesting reading in it.