ISLANDERS who are eligible for an autumn booster vaccine have been urged to get their jab by the deputy medical officer of health.
Dr Ivan Muscat said that it was important to appreciate that the pandemic was not over, in spite of the return to normality, or near-normality, that most Islanders have enjoyed.
He said: ‘Winter always brings an increase in viral infections such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and also now we have Covid to contend with, so there’ll be a mixture of these viruses this winter.
‘We don’t anticipate any significant restrictions, so people and viruses will be co-circulating, which is what you’d expect.’
After low levels of flu over the past two winters, Dr Muscat said it was possible that the 2022/23 ‘season’ could see greater activity.
This was partly based on patterns seen in the southern hemisphere winter earlier this year, as well as on a late-summer spike witnessed in Jersey.
He added: ‘There was an earlier peak and higher overall numbers in Australia during their winter, and there was evidence locally here of a rise in cases in September, before the start of the annual vaccination campaign.
‘Numbers here have dropped again during October, but we expect them to go up again later in the winter.’
Dr Muscat urged Islanders who were eligible for an autumn booster vaccine – those aged 50-plus, or anyone with underlying health conditions – to get vaccinated. Currently around 70% of this group have yet to have their jab.
‘We should not regard Covid as being over and I would urge people to take all reasonable precautions, one of the most important being to get your booster if you are eligible,’ he said. ‘Those who are over 50, or younger people who are more vulnerable, are at greater risk of more serious illness, and their immunity from previous vaccinations will have waned more significantly.’
He added: ‘Don’t wait for winter, or for a big wave in cases – if you do wait, then appointments might not be available straight away, and even when you’ve had your jab you won’t be protected immediately.
‘Covid and flu will also have a more deleterious effect on health if they occur together, or in close proximity to each other.’
