Vaccination appeal amid ‘very concerning’ increase in flu cases

By Rebecca Black (PA)

A call for vaccine take-up has been issued following a “concerning” sharp increase in flu cases in Northern Ireland.

Stormont Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said flu has come very early as he visited a vaccine centre at the Ulster Hospital in Belfast on Thursday.

The number of flu cases among adults and children has more than trebled in the last two weeks, rising from 273 to 484 last week and 954 this week, according to official figures.

There have also been 264 flu-related hospital admissions, up from 144 last week.

“The numbers are very concerning, the problem for me is that it has come very early and that it has hit us extremely hard,” Mr Nesbitt told the Press Association.

“I’m here at the vaccine centre at the Ulster Hospital to make an appeal to people: your best defence against this flu is to get the vaccination.

“Get the vaccine, particularly if you’ve got an underlying condition, that flu could really knock you for six.”

Director of nursing David Robinson said hospitals are busy with flu having arrived early.

“Flu has come early, and it’s nasty. We have 42 patients across our hospitals at the moment. That’s double the number of patients we had this time last year, and we have one patient in the intensive care unit,” he said.

“The strongest defence against flu is vaccination, so we encourage everybody who is eligible to please have their vaccine, and if you’re not feeling well, please look after yourself, maybe go to your local pharmacy, speak to your GP or come to us if you’re very sick.

“I would encourage everybody to get the vaccine as soon as possible, it does work and our programme is running on.”

Rachel Spiers, senior commissioning lead for vaccination at the Public Health Agency, said: “It’s really important that people come forward for their flu vaccine. In the last week we have seen a particular peak in the number of flu case and hospital admissions as well.

“It’s not just a bad cold, it can be really quite serious and in some cases fatal, particularly for those who are most vulnerable, and those are the groups that we’re really encouraging to come forward for vaccination.

“You can get vaccinated if you’re in any of the eligible cohorts, so if you’re over 65, a health and social care worker or if you’re in a clinical risk group.”

Mike Nesbitt with vaccinators Lorraine, Oriel and Claire at the Ulster Hospital Vaccination Centre in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)