Bulk of flu vaccines won’t arrive until mid-October
IT WILL be the middle of this month before GPs, pharmacists and hospitals will have received most of the supplies of the flu vaccine that are needed.
The HSE said that at that point, those who administer the vaccine should have three-quarters of their requirement, based on last season’s usage.
“This is 30pc more than was delivered at the same time last season. Deliveries take place every two weeks,” said a HSE spokeswoman.
Many people outside at-risk categories have been asked to hold off to allow vulnerable groups to get the jab first.
There is a big demand for the flu vaccine this winter because of fears that a combination of flu and Covid-19 could lead to higher levels of illness.
The HSE spokeswoman said: “This season, additional flu vaccine has been purchased. The HSE has procured 1.4 million doses for adults – that is over 20pc more than was distributed last season, as increased uptake is expected in the targeted groups.”
It has also bought 600,000 doses of nasal flu vaccine for children aged two to 12 years.
The latest reports from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show that no case of flu has yet been detected here this winter. The hope is that Covid-19 physical distancing and other measures will have a knock-on effect in reducing the incidence of flu.
However, a recent study found that flu outbreaks may enable the spread of Covid-19.
Researchers from Belgium, Italy, Norway and Spain created a mathematical model of Covid transmission during the early days of the pandemic. They found up to a 2.5-fold increase in coronavirus cases among the period in which the flu was co-circulating.
The team, led by the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, says the findings suggest the need to increase flu vaccination not just to prevent flu but also to curb the coronavirus.
Previous research has also found that co-circulating viruses can lead to increased spread.