Dr Robin’s Covid Updates

When Non-Covid Irish Eyes Are Smiling

A Week in Ireland: Walking With Science

All photos by the author

I’m a Boston-based cancer doctor and I’ve been writing weekly fact-based-no-blame-no-rumors-all-science-all-the-time essays about Covid-19 since March 2020.

You can read my views on why to get a summer cold tested here — or about protecting our kids here — or you can read about vaccines/anti-vaxxers throughout history here

Last month I spent eight days in Ireland. I did a nice “Insider Bus Tour of Ireland” with a local Irish-owned company called The WorldTour. It was great.

I chose Ireland carefully. I chose Ireland because their Covid management has been excellent, because they have an 80% vaccination rate, because their case/death numbers are about half our rates per capita. I chose Ireland because they mostly believe in science and they haven’t had much anti-mask/anti-vaxx disinformation.

I went there because it’s only a 5.5 hour flight from Boston and because I don’t believe air travel is inherently unsafe when vaccinated. I went there because I wanted to get away from All-Covid-All-The-Time-Everywhere-Based-On-Voting-Patterns. And I went to Ireland because my mother’s maiden name was Mollie Malone.