'It's worse than Covid,' says principal as 170 pupils off sick in one day

The principal of a County Londonderry school has said it is like "being back in Covid times" after 170 pupils were off sick on one day alone.

Brian Guthrie of Ebrington Primary School said some children had to attend hospital and a small number were admitted for treatment last week.

Confirmed flu cases among adults and children across Northern Ireland have more than trebled in the last two weeks, rising from 273 to 954, official figures show.

Mr Guthrie said classroom assistants at his school were also absent because of illness.

"It's not just been flu, it's been stomach bugs, very sore throats and illnesses in other ways as well but over the course of last week, it was very, very challenging with the number of pupils and staff off," Mr Guthrie told BBC's North West Today programme.

"It took me back to 2020, to be quite honest, the attendance was actually worse last week than it would have been at any of the worst points, if you like, back in Covid times so, yeah, it was a bit of a shock."

The impact of the high levels of absence, Mr Guthrie said, meant teachers were not able to carry out new learning in terms of literacy and numeracy.

"It was hitting the younger children more at the start of last week but towards the end of the week, we noticed that it was the upper end of school, our P5-to-P7s, where we were seeing a higher absence rate but at the start of last week, it was more primary one, primary two," he said.

Seasonal illnesses, including flu, rise every winter - but experts have predicted this year's flu season could be the worst in a decade.

It is affecting young people in particular and a children's doctor in Belfast said it is the worst influenza outbreak she has seen.

In the week ending 30 November, under-fives had the highest number of confirmed flu cases of any age group, according to the latest data published by the Public Health Agency, (PHA).

Over the same period five to 14-year-olds had the highest positivity rate (54.2%) meaning although fewer of them were tested - those that were tested were more likely to have the flu.

Director of Public Health at the PHA Dr Joanne McClean said most children who get the flu will not need to be admitted to hospital.

She added the likelihood of a child needing hospital treatment is reduced by about 70% if they get the vaccine.

The PHA is responsible for the roll-out of flu vaccines in schools across Northern Ireland, of which there are about 1,200 covered by the programme.

Dr McClean told The Nolan Show about 40 schools in Northern Ireland have not been visited by the vaccination programme yet.

"Most of them will have had a visit by next week," she said.

"At the minute, there are some schools who are scheduled after the Christmas holidays."

She added delivering vaccine programmes through schools is both convenient and ensures a higher uptake.

Vaccination rates among children across all age ranges remain below 50%, according to the PHA's figures.

Only about 1 in 4 preschool children have had the flu vaccine so far, while about 1 in 3 post-primary children have.

Dr McClean said the current data is incomplete but it suggests the uptake among school age children will be similar to last year.

"I would prefer the uptake was 85-90%. I'd prefer if everyone got it," she said.

"So, of course i'm disappointing by that."

• Preschool children (2–4): 25.8%
• Primary school children (P1–P7): 44.7%
• Post-primary children (Year 8–12): 30.3%

In Northern Ireland, the flu vaccine is free for all children from the age of two to 16.

People aged 65 and over, pregnant women, those with underlying health conditions, and care-home residents are also eligible for free vaccines.

Health and social care workers also get free vaccines.

Vaccines can be accessed through GPs, community pharmacies, school programmes and at local Trust clinics.

People who are not eligible for free vaccines can still pay to get them from pharmacies which offer vaccination services.

Liam Bradley, a community pharmacist in Derry, said the demand for the flu vaccine this year has been greater than last year.

"Every pharmacy is allocated a certain quota of vaccines and we had used our quotas in all our branches and we have ordered more," he said.

"There may be temporary shortages of vaccines because the pharmacies have used up their quota but the Department of Health would be trying to ensure that everybody gets the vaccine."

He said it takes about seven to 10 days for the vaccine to give people protection against flu.