Don't delay when it comes to booking a flu jab as cases are rocketing

IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATION REINFORCED BY DOCTOR

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE doctor has issued a stark warning for people to get vaccinated as flu cases in the county have risen by more than half compared to last year.

A total of 1,115 people have passed through Nottingham City Hospital, Queen's Medical Centre and King's Mill Hospital in the past eight weeks, with 90 of them currently on wards at City and QMC.

And despite the high numbers for the time of year, Dr Harry Pick, respiratory consultant at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), which runs City and QMC, warned that the peak is yet to hit.

He said: "This flu season is similar in terms of the presentation and how it affects patients [to previous years].

"The unusual difference this year is that it's come earlier than we'd usually expect and we're seeing significantly higher numbers at this time of year than we normally would.

"Comparing this time last year to this year, we have around 56 per cent higher rates of flu and hospital admissions as a result of that."

Dr Pick explained that the peak of the flu period is usually observed in the last week of December and first week of January.

A strain that has not been seen in the UK in recent years is now going around the country.

The consultant emphasised the importance of vaccination to prevent the illness from occurring or becoming severe.