Plea for Dorset people to protect themselves from Covid and flu
The NHS here is already seeing a rise in hospitalisations this Autumn
Dorset's health bosses are urging residents, who are eligible, to get an Autumn Covid-19 booster, to ease the pressure on the NHS this winter.
Nationally, rates of the virus are on the rise, with around one in 50 people in England and Wales having tested positive in the week to September 26th.
The Director of Public Health for Dorset is Sam Crowe.
He says although there's less people being admitted due to Covid-19 right now - the number testing positive in hospital is going up:
"Many of those people are in hospital already, they're not being admitted because of Covid, but probably about a third of them are being admitted with a Covid infection.
"We've got 157 people at the moment in our hospital system testing positive for Covid, and that's up from about 90-odd a couple of weeks ago, so it is starting to rise."
Dorset residents are also starting to be offered the flu jab, and there's also a plea for people to take up the offer.
Here's the county's Director of Public Health, Sam Crowe:
"If you're in one of the higher risk groups that's offered the Autumn Covid booster or the flu, then please do take up that offer to get vaccinated."
You can book your Covid booster on the NHS website or by calling 119.
For more information on the flu jab, contact your GP surgery directly.