Ireland : Four home residents who died of flu had received vaccine

Via The Irish Times :

" FOUR OF the residents who died of influenza at a nursing home in Co Donegal had been vaccinated against the flu, the HSE has confirmed.

Tests have shown the outbreak of infection at Nazareth House, Fahan, near Buncrana, which claimed six lives in less than a fortnight, was caused by Influenza A (H3).

Protection against this strain of influenza was contained in the seasonal flu vaccine issued last October.

Dr Darina O’Flanagan, director of the HSE’s national Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said, however, that the vaccine, recommended by the World Health Organisation, was “not a perfect fit” for the strain in the northern hemisphere. She also said the elderly people who had died were in their 80s and 90s, and vaccines were not always as effective in that age group as they often had weakened immune systems.

The first death at the home occurred on March 22nd. There were two deaths on March 29th, one on March 31st, one on April 1st and one on April 2nd. Three of the residents had been transferred to Letterkenny General Hospital before they died, and three had died in the home."