RATES OF swine flu infection in the State are continuing to rise sharply, as are the numbers of people having to be hospitalised with the virus, it was confirmed yesterday.
Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, said cases in the community had increased again in the past week to 210 cases per 100,000 of the population, up from 158.8 per 100,000 the previous week.
Among school-going children aged five to 14 years, rates are highest, at 596 cases per 100,000. In children under 5 the rates of infection are at 354 cases per 100,000. This means thousands of patients are succumbing to pandemic flu every week.
Dr Holohan also confirmed an additional 109 people were hospitalised with swine flu in the past week and an extra 14 patients were admitted to intensive care. To date nearly 500 patients have had to be hospitalised, but the proportion of hospitalised patients requiring intensive care remains steady.
Dr Holohan said there was increased pressure on hospitals, particularly children’s hospitals, which have had to cancel some elective surgery to cope.
Ten deaths have to date taken place in the Republic due to the virus. Rates of infection are expected to continue to rise “from this point forward”, Dr Holohan said, as the HSE announced details of its swine flu vaccination campaign for certain groups of patients, which begins on Monday.
Some 2,300 GPs will be offering the vaccine to at-risk patients aged six months to 65 years. In addition, 45 special clinics will open around the country on Monday for at-risk patients whose GPs are not offering the vaccine.
There are 400,000-500,000 patients in the at-risk group, including those with chronic heart and lung conditions and women more than 14 weeks pregnant, or those who have given birth within the previous six weeks.
About 200,000 doses of swine flu vaccine have been dispatched to GPs, who will get the same amount again over the next two weeks. A further 100,000 doses will be available at the HSE clinics.
There are two vaccines available. The GlaxoSmithKline version is egg-based, but anyone with an egg allergy will be able to get the Baxter vaccine, which is not egg-based, from HSE clinics.
Dr Fenton Howell of the HSE said the vaccination campaign was crucial to fighting the disease. “Vaccine is the only real preventable measure we have,” he said.
He added that the HSE hopes to have over a million doses of the vaccine by Christmas.
If the at-risk groups only require one dose – which has yet to be confirmed – the vaccine will then start to go to healthcare workers and children.
If they require two doses, as the vaccine licences currently recommend, most vaccine available in the country up to the end of the year will be given to at-risk groups only.
About half a million doses of the vaccine have so far been administered in EU member states, Dr Joan Gilvarry of the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) said, and she stressed that side-effects seen so far were in line with expectations.
These included local reactions at the injection site, fever, nausea and shivering, and these usually resolved themselves within one to two days. She said one adverse reaction to the vaccine had so far been reported to the IMB.
If a person has symptoms of swine flu or is feeling unwell on the day they are due to be vaccinated, vaccination will be deferred. People presenting for vaccination will have to sign consent forms and will normally remain under observation for 15 minutes afterwards.
Your questions answered
...by
EITHNE DONNELLAN, Health Correspondent
When will swine flu vaccinations be available?
Next week.
Who can get the vaccine?
As supplies of the vaccine are limited at present, existing doses are only being offered to certain patients.
These are at-risk patients aged six months to 65 years and household contacts of those who are immunosuppressed such as those on chemotherapy.
Who are the at-risk patients?
At-risk patients include those with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma and cystic fibrosis; those with chronic heart, liver or kidney disease; diabetes; chronic neurological disease like MS; morbid obesity; and pregnant women.
Where can these people get the vaccine next week?
Some 2,300 GPs are offering the vaccine. If your GP is offering it, get it there. If your GP is not, the HSE will have special clinics open in each region from next Monday and you can obtain it there. The full list of these clinics is at www.swineflu.ie
Will the vaccine work immediately?
No. It takes up to two weeks to develop antibodies – in the meantime one is still at risk of getting swine flu.
How long will the immunity offered by the vaccine last?
It should last several years
What does the vaccine cost?
It’s free for everyone.
Can the vaccine be purchased privately?
No.
When will everyone else, other than the at-risk groups, be vaccinated?
That depends on supply of the vaccine. The HSE expects to have at least one million doses by Christmas. Healthcare workers will be vaccinated after at-risk groups, followed by children aged 3-18 years, followed by over-65s and then all others. Realistically it will be next year before all others can expect to receive it.
How many doses will you need?
It’s hoped people will need only one jab but this has not yet been confirmed. As of now the licence for the vaccines states two doses three weeks apart should be given.