Midlands public health doctor calls on locals to get flu jab

The head of public health for the HSE in the Midlands has urged people to get the flu jab.

Dr Una Fallon is Director of Public Health Medicine with the HSE’s Public Health Department in the Midlands. She said Covid-19 measures such as social distancing, mask wearing and international travel restrictions resulted in extremely low flu activity levels globally in the last season, a lower level of population immunity against flu is expected in 2021 to 2022.

Dr Fallon spoke as the HSE Midlands Louth Meath Community Healthcare  organisation launched its flu vaccination campaign.

“Flu is unpredictable and it is not possible to know whether there will be a mild or severe flu season. However, we do know that the flu vaccine will give you the best protection against flu this season.

“We also want to avoid scenarios whereby people might become co-infected with flu and COVID-19 and the severe illness that may be involved. A high uptake of the flu vaccine, will help the health services during the winter to manage the demand on services from all lung infections, including flu, COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. It will also help those who are vulnerable to have a safer, healthier winter ”, she added.

This year, the flu vaccine is recommended for you and is free of charge if you are in one of these groups: Aged 65 and over, a health care worker, a child aged 2 – 17; pregnant women; People with medical conditions which put them at increased risk from the complications of flu.

For a full list of recommended groups visit hse.ie/flu

The HSE adds that it is important to get both the flu vaccine and the Covid-19 vaccine. The flu vaccine doesn’t protect against Covid-19. It is important to get both the flu vaccine and the Covid-19 vaccine. It adds that this is because flu and Covid-19 are caused by different viruses.

For a full list of recommended groups visit hse.ie/flu