NHS Orkney continues to vaccinate against both Flu and Covid, recognising both can be serious, even for healthy people.
If you are eligible for vaccination and have missed your appointment, or you are a household contact or carer and haven’t yet had your vaccine, please come along to one of the drop-in clinics at The Balfour below:
- Monday 22 and 29 January: 2pm – 4pm
- Friday 2, 9, 16 and 23 February: 2pm – 4pm
- March dates will follow shortly
If you require more information regarding your eligibility please call the team on 0300 303 5313, or visit: NHS Inform Winter Vaccines.
You can also find information on the dedicated Vaccination Programme page.
In winter 2023/24, Scotland administered 1,642,928 influenza (Adult 18+), 534,375 influenza (Children 6 months to 17 years), and 1,384,426 COVID-19 vaccines since September 4, 2023.
Among adults 65+, 79.64 received influenza, and 78.8% received COVID-19 vaccines by week 2. Uptake is lower for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines compared to winter 2022/23 – Public Health Scotland (18th January 2024)
The number of Influenza cases decreased in Scotland by 15%
Covid-19
The Number of acute COVID-19 admissions to hospital decreased to 274 ( week ending 14th Jan 24) from 351 the previous week .
| Health Board of Treatment | 31st Dec 23 | 7 Jan 24 | 14 Jan 24 |
| NHS Ayrshire and Arran | 20 | 20 | 17 |
| NHS Borders | 7 | 5 | 10 |
| NHS Dumfries and Galloway | 15 | 18 | 9 |
| NHS Fife | 37 | 22 | 25 |
| NHS Forth Valley | 17 | 10 | 17 |
| NHS Grampian | 39 | 26 | 26 |
| NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 93 | 108 | 73 |
| NHS Highland | 17 | 20 | 10 |
| NHS Lanarkshire | 38 | 32 | 32 |
| NHS Lothian | 66 | 49 | 30 |
| NHS Orkney | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| NHS Shetland | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| NHS Tayside | 28 | 31 | 20 |
| NHS Western Isles | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| Golden Jubilee National Hospital | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Scotland | 383 | 351 | 274 |
The Number of inpatients with COVID-19 in hospital (seven day average) decreased to 385 (as at 14 Jan 24) from 399 the previous week.
| Health Board of Treatment | 31 Dec 23 | 7 Jan 24 | 14 Jan 24 |
| NHS Ayrshire and Arran | 22 | 19 | 12 |
| NHS Borders | 13 | 11 | 23 |
| NHS Dumfries and Galloway | 7 | 6 | 3 |
| NHS Fife | 30 | 22 | 18 |
| NHS Forth Valley | 19 | 13 | 12 |
| NHS Grampian | 36 | 52 | 40 |
| NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 123 | 135 | 133 |
| NHS Highland | 8 | 18 | 24 |
| NHS Lanarkshire | 29 | 31 | 42 |
| NHS Lothian | 62 | 51 | 51 |
| NHS Orkney | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| NHS Shetland | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| NHS Tayside | 38 | 34 | 20 |
| NHS Western Isles | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Golden Jubilee National Hospital | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Scotland | 394 | 399 | 385 |
Waste Water Monitoring for fragments of coronavirus’ ribonucleic acid (RNA) in local waste water samples
The last published data for the area covered by the Kirkwall waste water system was on the 9th of January 2024 which continues to show positive readings.
The National Records of Scotland (18th Jan 2024) – weekly update:
The provisional total number of deaths registered in Scotland in week 2 of 2024 (8th January to 14th January) was 1,479 (226 or 13% lower than the 5-year average). There were 44 deaths mentioning COVID-19.
Those deaths in more detail:
Deaths involving Covid
- Age 45 – 64: 5 deaths, 4 female, 1 male
- Age 65 – 74: 6 deaths, 3 female, 3 male
- Age 75 – 84: 15 deaths, 8 female, 7 male
- Age 85+: 18 deaths, 10 female, 8 male
There were 44 deaths involving Covid, Covid was the main cause in 32 of them.
There were 8 deaths in Care Homes, 4 at Home/Non Institutional Setting, and 32 in Hospital.
Fiona Grahame