Health organizations say they’ve seen a surge of people asking for a flu vaccine in the wake of four deaths within the past week and dozens of others who have recently been hospitalized with serious illness from the virus.
Eleven people have died since the beginning of the 2018-2019 flu season and 98 are hospitals in serious condition, according to Health Ministry figures.
The country’s three largest health organizations all report a jump in the number of people seeking a vaccine. The Clalit Health Services says some 18,000 people were vaccinated just on Wednesday, adding to the 900,000 who have already been vaccinated.
Maccabi Health Services reports that daily figures for vaccinations had jumped from around 2,200 to 10,000. Meuhedet said that 6,000 people were vaccinated Wednesday compared to average of just 1,600 on proceeding days.
Vaccine figures for November and December were lower than previous years, the report said, until the sudden rally.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 26, 2019
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