The President of the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine has said the peak of the flu virus in Ireland will happen in or around Christmas Day, adding that it will be a very difficult festive period for healthcare professionals.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One, Professor Conor Deasy said teams in hospitals had been doing "trojan work" in the last two weeks during a big uplift in flu presentations.
He said that a surge in the flu virus is hitting Irish hospitals during a period of overcrowding and has appealed for people to get the flu vaccine.
He told RTÉ News that this is a "particularly nasty strain of flu".
"Anyone who has had it will attest to it, the patients that I'm meeting, even those I’m able to send home, will say how they feel really lousy and have been feeling lousy for a good few days," he said.
Speaking earlier on RTÉ's One O'Clock News, Prof Deasy said that there are 39 patients waiting for an inpatient bed today, but not all have the flu.
He said that patients in hospital with the flu are kicking themselves for not having had a vaccine in advance, as they are feeling like they "have been hit by a bus".
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Prof Deasy said when there is a surge in flu, hospitals struggle to keep them safe from each other so they "do not cross contaminate".
"We are appealing to the public that there is still time to get a vaccine and have a flu free Christmas," he added.
He suggested getting the vaccine at the GP or pharmacy, adding that this goes a long way towards helping to avoid the flu.
Prof Deasy said the chances of being hospitalised if you contract the flu increase, adding that the vaccine will take effect quickly to protect from further illness.
"More often than not, flu patients are able to be sent home from the emergency department, but there are patients that do end up being admitted to the hospital," he said.
"We have a dedicated ward now at CUH that is over-capacity, filled with complications associated with the flu".
Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin, said that there will be pressure put on the healthcare system "for sure" over the coming weeks due to the spread of flu.
He said that the the strain of flu (H3N2) is a bit more disease causing than previous strains, and that this means it is different from the previous year's viruses, so immunity from previous infection or having a previous vaccine is going to be less effective.
"The virus has mutated a bit more this year than normally."
He added that there has been an earlier onset of the disease and the peak will be higher than in previous years and is more transmissible.
"The way the trajectory is going, it will get worse over the next few weeks"
He said that there were multiple age groups in hospitals and there is flu right across the board, but that 75% of the people in hospital haven't been vaccinated.
Nursing homes are in containment phase, says CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland
Meanwhile, the CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland Tadhg Daly has said that nursing homes are in the containment phase of the flu virus at present.
He said that there is a heightened awareness and strong concern in the sector about flu and a potential surge coming, and it may be necessary to have some restrictions if there is a large outbreak.
However, he said ultimately at Christmas, residents want to continue to enjoy safe visits with family and friends.
"The sector is resilient and nursing home staff are very experienced in dealing with infection in general terms, but what we are hearing is concerning," he said.
"It’s up to everyone across society to get vaccinated and to take sensible precautions in the weeks ahead."
He added that social connections matter and it is important that the nursing home residents continue to receive visitors, which he described as a priority.
"If someone has symptoms they should not come anywhere near a nursing home," he said.
Mr Daly added that if someone has an infection or an infection brewing, it could have significant consequences for the older population.
He said that it is not too late to get vaccinated, and he would encourage everyone working in frontline healthcare to get vaccinated as they have a responsibility to those they care for.
He said that it is concerning hearing about a lack of uptake of vaccines this weekend among healthcare workers, as the latest is that among HSE staff, there is about a 27% uptake for health care workers.
