Warning to parents as flu cases soar – amid fears of hospitalisations in young

CASES of kids being hospitalised with flu have surged in Australia, prompting calls from the UK Government to get kids immunised.

The season has hit earlier than usual as experts believe immunity is low following the global Covid lockdowns.

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Dr Dame Jenny Harries, of the UK Health Security Agency, urged parents to make sure their kids have their flu nasal spray ahead of what said could be a ‘twindemic’ of flu and Covid this winter.

Flu cases are already higher than usual for this time of year and are expected to soar in the coming weeks. 

“The difficult thing is that we can’t expect anything, we should be anxious about it and I think that’s exactly what we should be,” she explained.

“The word ‘twindemic’ is not a guaranteed position for this winter but it’s one that we should be reasonably planning for.”

Flu cases are already higher than usual for this time of year and are expected to soar in the coming week.

Hospital rates are going up among children and the elderly, according to recent data from the UKHSA.

It is difficult to predict the severity of flu each winter so its unclear how bad the wave the UK might be.

Experts refer to the flu season in Australia to make predictions, where there are high case rates and hospital admissions for flu among youngsters.

“In Australia what they saw was an H3N2 (flu) wave, it came earlier in the season than it would normally… a couple of months earlier.

“It left large numbers of children in hospital and there were very high rates in children.

“Of course, many of those younger children have not previously been exposed during periods where there would be normal socialising,” she said.

However, she said we cannot predict the “exact timing” of the potential surge.

“It could be quite possible to have both (flu and Covid) rising at the same time; it could be that we have one peak followed by another, which would put substantial pressure on health services; and we might see slightly unusual patterns.

“For example in younger children, when we tend to think of flu predominantly affecting older individuals,” she added.

Dr Dame Jenny said she wanted to “ensure” that younger children at infant school and preschool, and some of the younger ages in secondary school, are “coming forward for nasal flu vaccinations as we approached winter.”

“But really importantly – the group that somehow we never quite manage to support into getting the vaccination – are the middle age group with underlying conditions,” she added.

Around 33 million people in England are eligible for a free flu vaccine this year, including all primary-age and some secondary-age children, who will be offered the nasal spray.

GPs are also inviting children aged two and three years old (as of August 31) for the nasal spray vaccine.

The latest data suggests that 12-13 per cent of two and three year olds have so far taken up the offer of a flu nasal spray.

Meanwhile, cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have increased in the UK in recent weeks, especially among the youngest, most vulnerable age group.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, there has been an seven per cent increase in cases among under 5’s during the week ending October 16, compared to the previous week.

And the figures show there has been a three per cent rise across all ages.

RSV cases are higher than typical for this time of year, as are cases of other bugs, including flu.

That’s because Covid lockdowns, in which kids stayed at home, prevented RSV from circulating as it usually would.

Immunity to various bugs among children, and adults, was low when the UK came out of lockdowns last year.

scientists warned of a so-called ‘swarm’ of three Omicron strains that could pose a threat this winter.