On Friday, Sir Liam put out a special plea to families to carry on getting the swine flu jab - and he's even saying he thinks swine flu will be back, next winter.
You may think it's a waste of time now. Just about 6,000 people were diagnosed with swine flu last week - that's about a tenth of the number at the worst of the outbreak.
And it turns out that many children don't need vaccination. They got the virus when it was sweeping through schools last summer and autumn - but it was so mild hardly anyone noticed. In the West Midlands and London as many as 40 per cent of children already now have natural protection against swine flu. Even among pre-schoolers, as many as 20 per cent now have natural immunity in these regions, according to an official study Report here.
But Sir Liam says: “Although throughout it has not been a severe illness for most people, children and younger adults have developed serious complications, been admitted to hospital and some have died.
“When the virus returns in the 2010 ‘flu season those who develop complications or die will be doing so from a vaccine preventable disease.
“I strongly advise that those eligible for the vaccine who have not yet had it, get the jab and protect themselves."
Here's a link to the official NHS advice on swine flu.
No comments:
Post a Comment