GPs Urge Public to Get Flu Vaccine Now as Severe Winter Outbreak Arrives Early
GPs urge public to get flu vaccine now as severe H3N2 variant arrives early, with seven deaths already recorded and hospital admissions up 50% in recent weeks.
General practitioners are calling on the public to get vaccinated against winter flu immediately to protect vulnerable family members this Christmas, as a highly transmissible and severe variant spreads across Ireland several weeks earlier than usual.
The Irish College of GPs has warned that the early arrival of the flu season means the peak will coincide with the Christmas and New Year holidays, with seven people already having died and hospital admissions increasing by 50% between week 46 and week 47.
Dr Scott Walkin, Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control Clinical Lead with the Irish College of GPs, said:
"We are seeing the winter flu outbreak several weeks earlier this year, which means that the peak will coincide with the Christmas and New Year holidays. Those age groups who are most likely to get the flu are those under 1 year, 1-4 year olds, and elderly people with underlying medical problems."
The highly virulent new strain, called H3N2 subclade K, tends to be more severe than other flu types. Despite the season only just starting, the death toll and sharp rise in hospitalisations signal a difficult clinical winter ahead for Ireland's health services.
Dr Walkin added:
"The current flu vaccine provides good protection against severe disease. The vaccine is effective within two weeks of getting it, so it's really important to get the vaccine now to ensure it doesn't ruin your Christmas or someone else's."
The flu vaccine is available from GPs and pharmacies and is free to those aged 60 or older, children aged from 2 to 17, healthcare workers, and pregnant women.
Very young babies and older people with weakened immune systems face the greatest risk from this winter's flu outbreak.