New cases of swine flu in England down
New cases of swine flu in England down
Also In The News
|
By Matt Hallam. |  |
Thursday, 19, Nov 2009 03:41
By Richard James.
The number of new cases of swine flu in England has dropped during the last seven days, health officials have confirmed.
Weekly statistics from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) issued on Thursday afternoon showed there were an estimated 53,000 new cases, down from 64,000 last week.
The number of people needing hospital care because of the H1N1 virus also dropped from 785 to 783 during the last week.
The government announced earlier children under the age of five are next in line to receive the swine flu vaccine.
The immunisation programme is already underway across the country, with pregnant women and NHS workers prioritised in receiving the jab.
The scheme will now be extended to children aged between six months and five-years-old. The age group have been highlighted as the most likely to end up in hospital after contracting the virus.
The extension of the vaccination programme will also take place in Scotland where there have been 38 deaths related to swine flu.
Since the start of the virus outbreak, 969 people in Scotland have been hospitalised due to swine flu.