Taoseach Michael Martin yesterday stated that a Covid-19 vaccine should be generally available by the middle of next year. I think this time-scale is optimistic but for now let’s assume this will be the case.
In the middle of this year when daily new cases were barely above single figures and deaths were within statistical noise of zero Dublin hardly opened up at all, so it is pretty obvious that the government has a zero-Covid policy. With an obvious lag between availability and “enough” people being vaccinated to have a significant effect that means any proper opening up is unlikely going to be before the autumn.
I am not going to wait that long.
As things stand almost all my previously-usual haunts have been closed for eight months and by the time they will all be able to open this will have become eighteen months. And that assumes they do actually open which looks doubtful as no business can survive that long with zero revenue. I have been out of Dublin the majority of this half of the year, and at the moment the place does not have much going in its favour as a place to stay.