The health committee was recalled from its summer recess to discuss the pressures on hospitals from Covid-19.
Paul Cavanagh of the Health & Social Care Board said the NI health service had had 'the worst winter ever in the middle of summer'.
Prof Ian Young, NI's chief scientific adviser told MLAs infection levels appeared to have plateaued.
The Belfast Trust announced it was cancelling some cancer surgeries as a result of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, another 1,600 positive coronavirus cases were reported by the Department of Health - up from 1,473 on Tuesday.
A vaccine booster scheme will be rolled out in September, Patricia Donnelly who heads the Covid-19 taskforce told MLAs.
Thanks for following along with us folks - that's all from the health committee for today.
Keep across the BBC News NI site for regular Covid-19 updates, and other news from Stormont.
Goodbye!
Image source, PacemakerIn answer to a question from DUP MLA Pam Cameron, the HSCB's Paul Cavanagh says the health service continues to work with the private sector, "using capacity within the sector where we can".
He says new contracts are being developed with private sector providers.
"We hope this will lead to increased capacity over the coming months."
Answering a question around rates of non-vaccinated patients in hospital from the DUP's Pam Cameron, Prof Young says that at the moment “around two thirds of hospital admissions are of non-vaccinated patients”.
“They tend to be, on average, of younger age,” he adds.
The remaining third he says are vaccinated and the majority of them are double-vaccinated
He says being double vaccinated reduces the risk of Covid a second time by about 70%.
Image source, PacemakerHe adds that people who are vaccinated can still get Covid, which is "why we need to continue with some precautions, but they are 95% protected" against the most severe outcomes.
"Given that around 80% of our adult population is double-vaccinated then that means a considerable number of individuals will still be at risk of hospital admission even after double vaccination," he adds.
Patricia Donnelly gives some follow-up details on who the booster jab is for.
She says it will be rolled out similarly to the flu vaccine programme, and will be available for anyone aged 50+ and anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable and was vaccinated the first time around.
Frontline staff, Ms Donnelly says, will also receive the booster jab, with care home staff the "number one priority group".
The vaccine used is expected to be "something like Pfizer”, and it is "not likely" that mobile teams will administer the jab in the winter.
Responding to a questions from Sinn Féin MLA Carál NíChuilín, the Health an Social Care Board's Paul Cavanagh says his message to cancer patients who have had operations cancelled is "we will get these services up and running again as soon as possible."
"This is a short surge and within a few weeks we will be back to normal," he said.
"But we have to provide patients with a safe service and we have to have the staff capacity to do them."
Ms Donnelly is asked if the roll out of booster jabs is definitely going ahead, and confirms it will start in September.
"On the booster campaign, we have received interim advice, and we have done detailed planning," she says.
Image source, Pacemaker"[The booster] won’t be necessary for everyone who has been vaccinated for the first time. We will have a partnership approach again - trusts, community pharmacies, and general practice."
She says GPs will be supported with additional vaccinators.
"We’ve got a lot of experience in doing this in a very efficient way now."
The Health and Social Care Board's Paul Cavanagh says 120 surgeries have been cancelled this week.
"I'm really disappointed and I'm very sorry we haven't been able to maintain those surgeries," he said.
Mr Cavanagh says hospitals have kept "green pathways" open in non-Covid areas, which have allowed elective surgeries to go ahead "as much as they possibly can".
Image source, PA MediaHe says the current wave has heavily affected hospital staffing levels with a combination of Covid infections, self isolation and annual leave.
"Staff availability is a particular problem for us now," he said.
Patricia Donnelly, head of the Covid-19 taskforce in NI, tells the committee it is waiting for advice on vaccinating post-primary children.
She says the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the body responsible for issuing advice on vaccines in the UK, has taken "a long time to reflect on this".
"They’ve looked at the safety of the vaccine, they’ve looked at the risk for children."
She said advice on the issue was still interim.
Ms Donnelly said she knew the chief medical officers of all four nations had discussed the issue, and noted the Republic of Ireland had recently changed its guidance for vaccinating 12 to 15 year olds.
"I do fully understand the arguments about the disruption there has been for [school children] already.
"We will be ready to vaccinate if that advice come forward."
The committee's chairman, Sinn Féin's Colm Gildernew, asks Prof Ian Young about cancelled surgeries.
He wants to know what has "gone wrong on this occasion that sees us back in the situation we have been in as previous surges and how could that have been avoided?"
Prof Young responds saying the waves of the epidemic impose "considerable additional pressures" in terms of admissions.
He says he hopes the current wave will lead to less hospital pressure as result of covid.
Image source, PAAgain he says that is a result of a successful vaccination programme.
We are “all acutely aware of the pressures on our colleagues in primary care and the hospital system”.
He says this wave is in the summer and that “exhausted staff need to take holidays” to ensure their resilience. Another reason is the number of people who need to self-isolate.
Prof Young says this wave is in the context of "both larger case numbers and cases having a larger number of contacts” as a consequence of relaxation of Covid rules.
“We need to remember the focus must be on pushing vaccination, and encouraging adherence to positive behaviour," he adds.
Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) commissioner Paul Cavanagh says hospitals have faced "unprecedented pressures" since the last wave of Covid-19 infections.
Mr Cavanagh says the health service is currently experiencing "in the middle of summer, one of the worst winters we have ever seen".
He says there is a lot to do to catch up with cancelled surgeries, although he says progress is being made.
Of the 3,000 hospital beds available at any one time, he says around 11% are occupied by Covid patients.
"Of the 73 people in critical care, 34 are Covid patients and two thirds of these are unvaccinated."
Mr Cavanagh says oxygen supplies are good and hospitals are "well able to deal with demand".
However, he says "a large number of staff are unavailable to us" as they are having to isolate.
Prof Ian Young goes on to discuss Covid-19 hospital admissions and what might come next.
He says there is a lag period of about eight days between an increase in case numbers and an increase in hospital admission and occupancy.
He says they are currently modelling somewhere between a "central" and "pessimistic" scenario in terms of hospital pressures.
"Under the central scenario we would peak somewhere around 400 inpatients towards the end of August - numbers gradually rising until then," he says.
Image source, NI AssemblyHe says while numbers are rising that if case numbers fall then it's likely hospital inpatient numbers will stabilise towards the end of next week.
"If case numbers begin to rise as a result of the weather deteriorating then there would be further increase in admissions," he adds.
"At present the number of Covid patients in hospital remains about one third of that that was observed in the previous wave so the proportion of individuals who are identified as cases, who are admitted to hospital, is falling and has fallen as a result of the beneficial results of vaccination," he says.
The head of NI's vaccine programme, Patricia Donnelly says vaccine uptake "went off a cliff" after initial success.
She says this has now changed due to the added convenience of mobile vaccination centres, as well as "novel means" such as free ice creams and selfie opportunities.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, PA MediaProfessor Ian Young, NI's chief scientific adviser, says there has been a "progressive increase in case numbers throughout the month of July" with regard to coronavirus.
"The number of cases is now at around 60% of the number in the previous wave", he says.
"Over the course of the last week case numbers appear to have plateaued and have levelled out."
He says there are two potential reasons why case numbers have plateaued - "the most unusual weather of the last two weeks" and "increased ventilation".
The committee hears that cases of Covid-19 are at 60% of the previous wave and doubling every 7-8 days, although numbers appear to be levelling out.
This may be as a result of recent warm weather which, if correct, could mean cases continuing to rise next week due to the weather deteriorating.
The committee is told of the pessimistic scenario regarding bed occupancy, likely to peak in mid-August with around 400 inpatients with numbers gradually rising until then.
Good morning and welcome to our coverage from the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Covid case numbers, staffing issues and the vaccination programme are among the issues being discussed at the Health Committee today.
Patricia Donnelly, head of the Covid-19 Vaccine Programme, has been fielding questions at a departmental briefing.