Soaring rates of flu and surge in hospitalisations of children under five in East of England prompt warning to parents
A surge in serious cases of flu among under-fives in the East of England has prompted health chiefs to urge parents to have their children vaccinated.
More people are currently being taken into intensive care nationally due to influenza than Covid-19 for the first time since the pandemic began.
About 650 children under five were in hospital in England with flu this week - up 44 per cent from 450 in the pre-pandemic winter of 2019. This time last year, there were fewer than 20 children in hospital with flu in the whole country.
And the cases have risen rapidly - rising to 20.70 hospitalisations per 100,000 children in week 49 from 8.41 per 100,000 the previous week.
But flu cases have also soared across all ages, with latest figures showing that nationally an average of 1,162 general and acute beds and 87 critical care beds are being taken up daily by patients with the virus. Last year, there were an average of just 25 patients a day in hospital with flu.
Cambridge University Hospitals has seen a “substantial increase in influenza numbers” in its emergency department and on its wards.
There is particular concern in the East of England, which includes Cambridgeshire, that vaccination rates for flu among those aged two and three are well down on last year.
Just 41 per cent of two-year olds, and 43 per cent of three-year olds have had the vaccine this year in the East, compared to 49 per cent and 51 per cent respectively.
The vaccine is usually administered as a quick and painless nasal spray for children.
Ruth Ashmore, the NHS’s lead for vaccinations in the East of England, said: “The number of young children in hospital as a result of flu highlights the seriousness of the flu virus, and that it can have a significant impact on a young person’s health.
“It’s extremely important that everyone who is entitled to a free flu jab, including young children, does have one.
“The flu vaccine will protect the child, their family and the people that they come into contact with.”
If the current trajectory of flu cases continues, the admission rate could go higher than in the peak of 2017-18, a particularly bad year for flu, during which more than 30,000 people died.
And it comes at a time when NHS services are under huge pressure, with nurses having twice gone on strike and ambulance workers also walking out, although not in the East of England.
The UK Health Security Agency has responded to rising numbers of flu cases by recommending that antivirals can be prescribed for it in primary care settings.
The flu vaccine, meanwhile, is available to:
- all primary school children (reception to Year 6)
- some secondary school aged children
- children aged 6 months to 17 years with long-term health conditions
- children aged 2 or 3 years on August 31, 2022 (born between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2020).
If a child has not had one at school, the nasal spray can be administered at a GP surgery.
If it is not suitable, a flu vaccine injection can be offered instead.
The NHS has stressed that it is not too late for children to get the flu vaccine and encouraged parents/guardians of those aged two and three and children in a high-risk group to make an appointment at their GP surgery.
There is also concern for the vulnerable 85-plus age group, in which there has been a week-on-week doubling of hospital admission rates.
Dr Conall Watson, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Flu is now circulating widely and we have seen a sharp rise in the rate of hospitalisations for flu this week, particularly among the under-fives and over-85s.
“Admissions are now at the highest point since the 2017 to 2018 season and we are expecting case numbers to continue increasing as we move further into winter.
“The flu vaccine offers the best protection against severe illness and it’s not too late for everyone eligible to get it. Uptake is particularly low in those aged 2 and 3 so if your child is eligible please take up the offer.”
