Pressures on hospitals in Wales are being worsened by fewer people receiving the flu jab, according to the director for Public Health Wales (PHW). Fewer people have had the vaccine compared to last year, coinciding with a rise in the number of flu cases which is predicted to increase in the next month.
People have also been advised to be aware of cases of norovirus – or the winter vomiting bug – which has also been affecting many across the country. Dr Giri Shankar, director at PHW, said the NHS is currently seeing a notable increase in seasonal respiratory viruses, especially flu.
He said flu numbers were expected to rise further, telling the BBC PHW is “obviously concerned about the rising numbers of influenza cases”. “Vaccination is the single most important intervention that can protect people,” he said.
The number of people to have received the flu jab in Wales this winter is lower than previous years. While chemists and doctors are trying to push the jab, flu vaccination uptake among those over the age of 65 is less than 70% across the country. The figure for health workers is at 27% across health boards down from 33% last year, Dr Shankar said, adding this threatens to add significant pressures to the healthcare service with more staff potentially off sick.
Norovirus cases rose by 26% in the week leading up to December 22 too, according to PHW. Parents have been advised to take their children out of school if they have symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea.
According to PHW there were at least 900 patients in hospital beds with flu, covid or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at the end of December, which is up 50% on the same time the previous year. Figures for the last week of December showed 5% of all hospital patients in Wales had flu. For the latest health and Covid news, sign up to our newsletter here