The headteacher of a County Londonderry school said it was “back in the days of Covid” after 170 pupils were taken ill in one day.
Brian Guthrie from Ebrington Primary School said some children had to go to hospital and a small number were admitted for treatment last week.
Confirmed cases of flu among adults and children in Northern Ireland have tripled in the past two weeks, rising from 273 to 954, official figures show.
The numbers are expected to rise, according to the director of public health at the Public Health Authority (PHA), Dr Joanne McClean, who described the current situation as an “epidemic”.
“took me back to 2020”
Mr Guthrie said classroom assistants at his school were also absent due to illness.
“It wasn’t just the flu, it was stomach bugs, very sore throats and illnesses in other ways, but over the last week it’s been very, very challenging with the number of students and staff absent,” Guthrie told the BBC’s North West Today programme.
“I went back to 2020, to be honest, the turnout was actually worse last week than it would have been at any of the worst times, if you will, in the Covid times, so yeah, it was a bit of a shock.”
The impact of high levels of absenteeism, Mr Guthrie said, meant that teachers were unable to deliver new learning in literacy and numeracy.
“It hit the younger kids more at the start of last week, but towards the end of the week, we noticed it was the top of the school, P5 to P7, where we were seeing a higher rate of absences, but at the start of last week, it was more primary, primary two,” he said.
“The most severe flu outbreak in the last ten years”
Seasonal illnesses, including flu, are on the rise every winter – but experts have predicted this year’s flu season could be the worst in a decade.
It is particularly affecting young people and a Belfast children’s doctor said it was the worst flu outbreak he had seen.
In the week ending November 30, children under five had the highest number of confirmed flu cases of any age group, according to the latest data released by the Public Health Agency (PHA).
During the same period, children aged five to 14 had the highest positivity rate (54.2%), meaning that although fewer of them were tested – those who were tested were more likely to have the flu.
[Getty Images]
Director of Public Health at the PHA, Dr Joanne McClean, described the current number of flu cases in Northern Ireland as an “epidemic”.
In the week to November 30, there was a “near doubling” of both positive tests and flu-related hospital admissions compared to the previous week, she said.
“The epidemic is still growing,” Dr McClean told the BBC’s Evening Extra programme.
“So we’ll expect to see even higher numbers in the coming week.”
Dr McClean explained that this is a “slightly drifting” strain of flu, called H3, which is more infectious than the usual types and seems to affect children most significantly.
However, she said, most children who get the flu will not need to be hospitalized.
She added that the likelihood of a child needing hospital treatment is reduced by about 70 percent if they receive the vaccine.
The PHA is responsible for rolling out flu shots in schools across Northern Ireland, around 1,200 of which are covered by the programme.
Dr Joanne McClean has described the current flu outbreak as an ‘epidemic’ [BBC]
Earlier on Friday, Dr McClean told The Nolan Show that 40 schools in Northern Ireland had yet to be visited by the vaccination programme.
“Most of them will have had a visit by next week,” she said.
“At the moment there are some schools that are scheduled after the Christmas holidays.”
She added that the PHA will follow up with those schools to see if anything can be done to get them the vaccines quickly, and that providing vaccination programs through schools ensures greater uptake.
“As director of public health, it would be great if we could finish all the schools in September as soon as the vaccine arrives,” she said.
“But there are so many schools, we have to agree with the schools. They have to find a date that works for them and we have to get nurses then to administer the vaccine.”
“Influenza uptake among children is disappointing”
Vaccination rates among children of all ages remain below 50 percent, according to PHA figures.
Only one in four preschool children have had the flu shot so far, while about one in three post-primary children have had the shot.
Dr McClean said current data was incomplete but suggested uptake among school-age children would be similar to last year.
“I’d like the uptake to be 85-90%. I’d like everyone to get it,” she said.
“So of course I’m disappointed about that.”
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Preschool children (2–4): 25.8%
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Primary school children (P1–P7): 44.7%
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Post-primary children (Year 8–12): 30.3%
Who is eligible for a flu shot?
In Northern Ireland, the flu vaccine is free for all pre-school children aged two and over, as well as for all children in primary school and all children in years 8-12 in secondary school.
People aged 65 and over, pregnant women, those with underlying health conditions, care home residents and health and social care workers and are also eligible for free vaccines.
Vaccines can be accessed through GPs, community pharmacies, school programs and at local Trust clinics.
People who are not eligible for free vaccines can still pay to get them from pharmacies that offer vaccination services.
Liam Bradley, a community pharmacist in Derry, said demand for the flu shot this year was higher than last year.
“Each pharmacy is allocated a certain quota of vaccines and we had used our quotas in all our branches and ordered more,” he said.
“There may be temporary shortages of vaccines because pharmacies have used up their quota, but the Department of Health would try to make sure everyone gets the vaccine.”
He said it takes about seven to 10 days for the vaccine to give people protection against the flu.