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NO FLU CASES were confirmed in the last week, according to a report from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
The weekly report showed that there were no new laboratory-confirmed influenza cases between 25 – 31 October.
To date, there have only been two confirmed cases of the flu in Ireland during the 2021/2022 season. It is not clear yet if the virus has been passed on to others yet.
Jack Lambert, an infectious disease consultant in the Mater Hospital, said that the current trend of how the flu is spreading is not unlike previous years.
“It can take off or it can just be sporadic and then it can peak, so this is not unusual,” he said.
Influenza changes every year and as a result, it can be hard to track how it develops. As a result of this, it can start at a different point each year.
For example, in March 2020, influenza B was still circulating in Ireland – around the same time that the Covid-19 pandemic began. Other years, it has broken out in autumn or winter.
Lambert said, “We don’t understand respiratory viruses that well. Each year, they may come in at a different time.”
The flu could circulate in communities much easier before the pandemic, as practices like wearing masks were not commonplace. Since they have been introduced, the spread of influenza has slowed down.
“We didn’t see flu for the last couple of years because we were in lockdown and people were meticulously wearing masks. That was a function probably of Covid-prevention, resulting in less respiratory illnesses,” he said.
“It’s early days. The fact that flu hasn’t hit this year doesn’t mean that it might not come later in the year or January, February of next year.”
Lambert’s public clinic would see many high-risk patients, many of which are homeless or from other vulnerable communities. Despite this, he says that no vaccinations for influenza have been delivered to him, due to short supply.
“The flu vaccine has not been delivered to the hospitals for patient use. Patients are told, ‘It’s available in GP practices’, ‘It’s available in pharmacies’, but an awful lot of populations can’t afford a GP or they can’t afford a pharmacy.”
“It’s a missed opportunity not having vaccines available for the most vulnerable and that, to me, is a failure of the Government’s plan,” he said.
Having a flu campaign and starting it earlier in the season is crucial to reducing influenza cases, according to Lambert. He said, “I do think it’s important that we roll out vaccines to all who need them and make it easy for them to access and currently, that’s not the situation.”
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Heinz ketchup pours quicker from the glass bottle then the plastic one.
Tastes better from the glass one too.
A human head weighs 8 pounds
More importantly, store it in the fridge or the press?
Really I leave mine on the floor next to my chair.
8lbs? Maybe in Brazil. More like 11-12lbs (4.5-5kg) in the rest of the world.
I have a 4 minute walk to work. I literally have no excuse.
A 1 minute drive you mean!
But by Christ you pack in those extra 800 calories in that 4 minute walk
I hate Dublin Bus..
Unbearable some mornings. Especially before the oul caffeine injection.
3 weeks ago i started walking to work. It takes an hour but I’ve already lost a stone in weight
Respect. Well done.
I might ask my boss to give me an extra day off so to make up for them calories.
Are we now paying scientists to tell things we already know???
No if you’d read the article you’d have found out that the UK taxpayers are….
If people are spending a few hours a day commuting…they have to eat…maybe we should have spin bikes at our desks…there has to be a healthy balance but that’s not always possible if you have a work / family life to balance
Or how about cycling to work?
Yep or you could just spray yerself with shite instead
Eh…? Mudguards?
I cycle 10.3 km to work everyday and 10.3 km home. There are a few steepish gradients. It was exhausting to start with but I’m now managing. I’m losing weight. I burn fat, not oil.
Of course, I’m lucky only to have to travel 10.3 km. I know a person who travels 47 km each way by bike.
The point is that either an ordinary bike or an e-bike can provide an exercise option.,
Be careful up on that pedestal you don’t fall off.
It’s not a pedestal; it’s a Trek.
LOL!!!!
Ha! I’ve just read this article after I ate a doughnut at 7am on my commute to work. Definitely need to ask for more days off work!!
Poor commenting fare today…..
Well we’re not allowed to comment on half the articles.
Alan…thats what i was thinking…..its mostly fluff like this article….no solid traveller, race, political or atrocity story to draw out the islamaphobic, racist, homophobic and xenophobic consumers like yours truly…..
There’ll always be an anti-Catholic or pro-abortion story though.
Three weeks since we had a story about Paul Kelly of Console fame. That was well buried.
Very pertinent….and true…
You could just eat a banana on the train instead of prepacked food just because you commute or travel as part of your job doesn’t excuse a bad diet .
That was the most boring journal day EVER……..prousse k only poked me once….to no avail as usual but thats not the point….
Why is the journal printing a Daily Mail article, use your own research and make it relevant to the Irish way of life
Real cutting edge news from the journal,we know all this without scientists having to tell us,wait though,why don’t we just move everyone beside their work place,now that would b great crack altogether. Some of these so called scientists probably never commuted in their life.
Maybe this is the solution: http://homejobs.ie
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