Dr. Colm Henry:

There are two aspects to that. For influenza, the uptake campaign has not finished yet; we are seeing figures that are comparable with previous years. Over 60% of healthcare workers so far have taken it. There is variation, as we saw in previous years, between hospital communities and different institutions. For example, one hospital may have a very low level of influenza vaccine uptake while others may have almost double the level of uptake.

For Covid vaccination, the level among healthcare workers is much lower. That is a source of concern. This has been escalated through direct communication from the CEO and from myself and others throughout the hospital groups and CHOs. This week, there will be another round of phone calls and direct engagements with leads in hospital groups and CHOs to maximise uptake. We want to be in a stronger position should there be a surge of Covid or influenza after Christmas. We do not want to see a rush of people trying to access vaccination after the horse has bolted.