Deyalsingh: Few take flu vaccine

Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh
Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh

FEW people have opted to be vaccinated against this season's flu virus, lamented Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh in the House of Representatives on Friday.

He was replying to a query on a possible outbreak.

Deyalsingh said the Government has imported 100,000 doses of influenza vaccine, available at all public health centres.

“So far the uptake of these vaccines has been disappointingly low.”

He urged five vulnerable groups to get vaccinated: pregnant women, children under five, immunocompromised people, the elderly and health workers.

The matter arose when Couva South MP Rudy Indarsingh, in a listed question, asked if any outbreak of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) has occurred at Chaguanas North Secondary School.

Deyalsingh replied that one teacher was ill and this was not due to H1N1.

“There was one suspected case, a schoolteacher, (who) has since fully recovered because the common cold is self-limiting.

“There has been no confirmation of any outbreak of H1N1 at Chaguanas North Secondary School. Since the report of that teacher being ill with what seems to be the common cold, that school has in fact been sanitised.”

Deyalsingh said the best measures against the virus were to cover one’s nose and mouth when sneezing and to wash one’s hands often and use anti-microbial agents.

“In this case prevention is a whole lot better than cure.”

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"Deyalsingh: Few take flu vaccine"

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