Vulnerable urged to get swine flu jab

HEALTH chiefs are urging people who are in “at risk” groups to take up the offer of a swine flu jab as soon as possible.
NHS bosses are pleased the impact of the bug is not now expected to be as serious as at one time feared.
But they point out the number of people in North West hospitals in connection with swine flu has gone up by 35 per cent over the past week.
There were 118 in hospital yesterday, with 29 people in critical care; across the country the number of people in hospital has doubled in the past three weeks.
Dr Ruth Hussey, North West Director for Public Health said, “It is great news that for the majority of the population, swine flu is proving to be milder than was originally feared.
“We are however concerned that the number of people needing hospital treatment and critical care is continuing to rise. It seems that although the total number of people catching the virus is going up slowly overall, the complications people are experiencing are severe.”
“Up to 1.5m people could still become ill in the peak week. Children under 16 are particularly susceptible to the illness and unfortunately in rare cases we have seen healthy children developing severe complications. “
Evidence is now pointing to a less severe but more prolonged outbreak, with NHS staff experiencing pressure until May next year.
At the moment there are “hotspots” in the North West, in Manchester and East and Central Lancashire and it is expected that this will continue over the next few months, with some areas reporting more cases of swine flu than others at different times.
Dr Hussey said, “At the moment it seems that younger people are particularly susceptible to the virus. People with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and pregnant women are more vulnerable to catching the virus and experiencing complications. There are 1.3 million people in the North West who have been identified as at risk.
“The case for staff being vaccinated remains the same. Front-line NHS and social care staff have day-to-day contact with people who are at risk. The message is simple – if you can’t catch it, you can’t pass it on.”
The number of people prescribed and taking anti-virals has continued to rise over the past seven days.