As of Friday 6 November 2009

The Council continues to assess the position on a regular basis.

For the first time in the second wave, the East of England region has seen a significant increase in flu activity and now is the region with the second highest rate for antiviral collection in the country.

There are now two hotspot areas in the region (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough) where numbers of people showing flu-like symptoms has risen above the regional and national average.

Hertfordshire figures are still relatively low in comparison. The number of antivirals collected last week ranged between 100 and 240 each day.

The vaccination programme has begun in Hertfordshire with acute trusts vaccinating their front line staff and patients.

A great deal of work has been going on behind the scenes to prepare for this programme and the PCT now has more than 320 clinicians who have received full training on administering swine flu vaccines. This group of staff will work alongside other staff such as district nurses, to ensure that all patients in the priority groups receive their vaccination as soon as practically possible.

There is a range of useful information available on the Department of Health and NHS Choices websites, including:

Swine flu vaccination, what you need to know – a public leaflet to explain who is in the priority groups for the vaccination and why it is important they have the jab.

Swine flu campaign resources – including downloads of the new respiratory and hand hygiene campaign materials.