Two more people have died from complications related to the influenza virus, which raises the number of deaths from the epidemic in development at 17, the Ministry of Health said Thursday.
Although the flu season is beginning to develop, at least 167 people have already been hospitalized in serious condition with complications derived from the virulent strain, compared to just 56 people last year.
A 40-year-old man was pronounced dead early in the day after being admitted to a hospital in critical conditions after developing complications from the flu. Doctors at the Tel Hashomer Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv said the man was not suffering from any condition of Health underlying.
Last week, a one-year-old boy and two teenagers, aged 19 and 14 respectively, died after suffering complications from the flu virus.
“The flu season is an annual event, so the fact that we are dealing with the flu was not a big surprise,” said Professor Itamar Grotto, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health. “What is amazing, however, is the rate at which people are contracting the disease, this is a clear indicator that the worst is yet to come, so we must prepare for a hard winter.”
According to Professor Grotto, the number of patients suffering from influenza will increase in the next two weeks. “Although I sincerely hope we don’t see any more difficult cases, hospitals must prepare for an influx of patients.”
In addition, recent reports have indicated that so far the number of Israelis who have been vaccinated against influenza is significantly lower than in previous years, although the Ministry of Health has been issuing warnings for months, urging people to get vaccinated in local organizations. of health maintenance (HMO).
“Unfortunately, sometimes we need a reminder that the flu can have serious repercussions for even the healthiest people,” said Professor Grotto, “we try to raise awareness of people every year, but it seems that the number of vaccinates depends on the level of risk that people feel they would be taking if not [se pone la vacuna]”
So far, only 22 percent of the population has received their vaccines, and the flu season is expected to peak between January and February.
When asked if the low percentage of vaccinated people would result in more flu-related deaths, the professor tried not to cause panic. “Meanwhile, the number of victims is similar to that of previous years, but we have a highly effective vaccine that significantly reduces the chance of getting the disease and the complications that result from it.”
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