The Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland warns that while flu cases are expected to peak this week, hospitals will continue to face significant pressure. Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Colm Henry expresses concerns about a potential 'double spike' in cases due to the return to work and school. He emphasizes the urgent need for increased hospital capacity to accommodate the influx of patients.
Flu cases should peak this week but the pressures on overwhelmed hospitals will not immediately lift, the HSE has warned.
READ MORE:HSE says 'no doubt' system is ‘under pressure’ as number of people in hospital with flu ‘increasing rapidly’ Dr Henry continued: "We expect it to peak this week, but there are ongoing cases. It doesn’t just stop suddenly. In any one season, we expect 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the population to get flu and affect the vulnerable, like children. Last year, we had over 1,000 children hospitalised from influenza."
The HSE has urged people to get a winter vaccine to protect themselves from the "worst impacts of flu and Covid-19". But Dr Henry said that the jab will not guarantee protection against sickness. He told RTE: "Vaccines are never 100 per cent effective. We know from previous seasons of A, like in 2015-16, that vaccines were moderately effective , while it was more effective in 2018-19." He added: "Covid is not yet seen as a seasonal virus. It is highly contagious.
HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster last week predicted 900 flu patients – and that number was exceeded just days later. Dr Henry said there were 748 flu patients in hospital, while cases in the community were more than 3,000. The INMO’s latest Trolley Watch figures stated there were 700 patients waiting for beds in hospitals across the country this morning.
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