Filenews 21 January 2026
The deaths of hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza have risen to 13 since the beginning of this year's epidemic season, after yesterday's death of a 54-year-old man in a private hospital, said the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Elizabeth Constantinou, who said that the flu broke the age "barrier" of the elderly.
Speaking to the Agency, Dr. Elisavet Konstantinou said the last six deaths were recorded in recent days, with five occurring over the weekend and one yesterday, bringing the total number of losses to levels increased compared to the same period last year.
"We reached 13 in total. The latest 24-hour data speak of five new cases over the weekend, while one death was recorded yesterday, which occurred in a private hospital," he said.
According to the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health, the 13 deaths mainly concern elderly people over 80 years of age, with multiple comorbidities, who were hospitalized in hospitals of the surveillance network from December until today.
He stressed that yesterday's death is an "exception", which concerns a man aged only 54.
When asked whether the deaths are solely due to the flu or other causes, Dr. Konstantinou clarified that "the cases concern admissions for influenza and the final cause of death will be confirmed when they are fully registered in the system".
As he explained, "there is a specific system of the World Health Organization, which determines the final cause of death", to add that "this is the data we have so far".
Peak of the epidemic and beginning of a small recession
Regarding the course of the epidemic, she appeared cautiously optimistic, noting that "based on the basic epidemiological data we collect in the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit, it seems that we have reached the peak and a slight recession has begun, i.e. an improvement in the epidemiological picture and the reduction of cases".
The same, as he said, is observed in the number of hospitalizations, with the hope that in the coming weeks the picture will continue to improve.
In relation to the resilience of the health system, Dr. Konstantinou said that "the situation is manageable, even though there is pressure on both the public and private sectors".
He said that in addition to the planned cases, there is an increased load due to respiratory infections, with intense laboratory and diagnostic pressure.
Answering a question if there is sufficiency in antiviral drugs and diagnostic tests, Dr. Konstantinou reassured, saying that "strategic planning is done every summer, with an assessment of needs and reserves".
"There is sufficiency and readiness, no problem is identified," he said specifically.
More than 145,000 flu vaccinations
He made special reference to vaccination, stressing that this year there was a great response for the flu vaccine.
"Of the amount of 160,000 vaccines we have brought, more than 145,000 thousand have been used," he said.
On the contrary, for COVID-19 vaccines, he said that the response is "very low", attributing the phenomenon to the hesitancy observed by people after the pandemic.
When asked if vaccination makes sense at this time and how effective this year's vaccine is against circulating strains, the answer was clear, with Dr. Konstantinou to say "obviously it makes sense".
"There is still time for vaccination, as we have not completed the flu season," he stressed.
He explained that every year two epidemic waves are recorded, namely the first after the holidays and the second, usually lower, from mid-February to early March.
Regarding the effectiveness of this year's vaccine, he noted that based on data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), it exceeds 55%.
"No vaccine is 100% effective. It typically covers about 65% of the strains circulating in the community. This year, due to the K substrain of influenza, the effectiveness seems slightly lower, but remains satisfactory," he said.
Besides, he ruled out the possibility of taking stricter measures in hospitals or nursing homes, clarifying, however, that instructions have already been sent and there is a team that monitors the situation daily, for the early detection of clusters.
Finally, he told those who have not been vaccinated - especially the elderly - to do so immediately through their personal doctor, while at the same time they are asked to observe personal protection measures, such as the use of a mask in crowded places, avoiding contact with people who are sick, proper hand hygiene and good ventilation of the premises.
CNA
