Results 1-14 of 14 for flu segment:7705257

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Dr. Lorraine Doherty: We cannot really say that all flu seasons are the same. Some years we have a bad flu season and some years a slightly less severe one. We have a very important flu immunisation programme, which is delivered annually and is to be extended this year to include children aged between two and 12 years old. We have an active process in place for planning for flu this...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Michael McNamara: Earlier, Dr. Kelleher mentioned absenteeism during the flu season. Perhaps that rate of absenteeism needs to be greater. Typically, what percentage of the Irish population gets the flu and how many people are hospitalised for it during the flu season?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

...committee, which is an expert committee. It bases its immunisation guidelines and recommendations on the best available evidence and having a targeted approach to protect those most at risk from flu in any one season. Over the years, we have seen an extension of what we call the at-risk groups to include a wider section of the population. We already immunise all of our elderly citizens...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Dr. Lorraine Doherty: I will start with a general comment and then hand over to my colleague, Dr. Sisson. The issue of flu immunisation among healthcare workers is a worldwide challenge. We know that, for some reason, there have been healthcare workers who have been reluctant in the past to avail of the free flu vaccine. I should make clear that enough vaccine has been procured and is...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

...higher, depending on the disease. We have been measuring hospitalisations quite well over the least three or four years and last winter, we went up to 7,000 or 8,000 people being admitted with flu. Some of that is because of much better recording but it also indicates a change in patterns. Equally, there are seasons where flu is milder and the numbers are significantly lower. In some...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Dr. Lynda Sisson: I thank the Deputy. We are actively looking at the flu season coming up and we will start vaccinating on 20 September. I will outline two of the main drivers in increasing flu vaccine, the first of which is to increase the availability of the vaccine. The second concerns increasing the education and communication around it. In terms of increasing availability, we have...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: ..., because these people are known with known addresses. The Garda should call and ask them, in the interests of public health, to turn up. The second question I have relates to the uptake of the flu vaccine, as well as to the certainty of the return of flu and the probable return of Covid-19. From my reading of what the witnesses gave us, the rate of take-up in the HSE is 44%, which is...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

.... Those are things we are aware of that need to be factored in to the overall planning for staffing in those scenarios. There is a great deal that we still need to learn about this infection. In flu season, we see children as super spreaders of flu and yet children do not seem to get high levels of Covid. Why is that? We do not know. There are many studies being done on the...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Michael McNamara: Is Dr. Kelleher saying that 5,000 or 6,000 people could have the flu in any given week?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

...change we could make. Evidence from elsewhere in the world increasingly states that if we can get uptake of more than 40% or 50% in this age group, it starts to have a significant impact on flu in the overall population. Trying to do this is very important. The flu vaccine works well for some individuals but it works best at a population herd level. International experience shows it...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Fergus O'Dowd: I hear everything Dr. Sisson is saying but I am not hearing enough about outcomes. If we have an outbreak of Covid-19 again in the autumn, coupled with the flu, it will be an appalling vista in our hospitals and especially our accident and emergency departments. The HSE perhaps needs to consult with all of us, the Oireachtas, the Government and everybody to ensure that there is a huge...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

Róisín Shortall: I thank our visitors for their presentations. My first question goes back to the issue of the flu vaccine. I would like to ask Dr. Sisson a few questions in that regard. I commend the work being done to improve the uptake of the vaccine among healthcare workers. It is really important that we boost this year's figure in comparison with those in recent years. I also note that last week...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

David Cullinane: ...all know we face a major challenge in dealing with Covid care, non-Covid care, all the infection-control measures, public health guidelines and the need for catch-up programmes. We have the winter flu coming at us. We have the potential of an increase in Covid if it happens. It is a perfect storm that requires a plan. Will Mr. Woods explain to us when we will see the bones of this plan...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Covid-19: Infection Rate among Healthcare Workers (Resumed) (21 Jul 2020)

...Getting people to understand has been a big issue for us. Members of the committee have heard us say repeatedly every winter that people should not come into work if they start having the signs of flu. I have been saying it for a decade or more. They should stay at home. It is the same here. I am not differentiating between the public and healthcare workers in those circumstances -...