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Everything you need to know as flu cases rise in Cambridgeshire
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A total of 18.5 million people have been given the flu jab so far
Everything you need to know as flu cases rise in Cambridgeshire
- Flu hospitalisations are rising in Cambridgeshire, bucking the national trend. An average of 57 beds a day were occupied with flu patients in Cambridgeshire during the week ending December 28.
- The current number of beds occupied is up from an average of 48 a day a week earlier. The week ending December 14 saw an average of 42 beds occupied each week.
- This is more than at the same time in previous years. In 2024 an average of 52 beds a day were taken up by flu patients. In both 2023 and 2022 it was an average of 10 a day.
- Nationally the figures have been falling from an average of 3,061 a day to an average of 2,676 a day. This has been partly attributed to a rise in flu vaccinations.
- A total of 18.5 million people across England have been vaccinated this year. That is half a million more than at the same time last year.
- Hospitalisations are up in Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from 22 a day average to 34 a day average in the week ending December 28. North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust is down slightly from 26 a day to 24 a day.
- Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS National Medical Director, said it is ‘not too late’ to get a flu jab if you are eligible. She added: “It is welcome news to see a drop in the number of people being admitted to hospital with flu, thanks in part to the extraordinary efforts of NHS staff with more than half a million more people vaccinated against flu compared to the same period last year. The NHS is far from complacent as temperatures drop with this likely to increase pressures in the New Year, and demand on services remaining high with NHS 111 services recording their second busiest day in two years on Saturday.”
- Patients are advised to only use 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergency situations. They have been told to use NHS 111 and 111 online for other conditions.
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