At the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a long queue of people waited to take flu tests and vaccines for the disease on February 11.
A hospital representative said the number of people getting the vaccine doubled compared to the same period last year. "As the number of flu infections has sharply increased in recent weeks, more people, mostly children and the elderly, have come to get the vaccine," the representative said.
Le Thao My, 27, took her small son to get the Influenza A vaccine. Doctors advised her to take a dose for herself for better prevention.
A child with fevers and coughs was taken to the hospital for testing.
At 2 pm on February 11, a vaccine centre in Truong Chinh Street was crowded. The centre said that the number of people coming for the Influenza A vaccine has increased by 200 percent, and many are family members.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa, 52, and her two children all came to take the Influenza A vaccine. Hoa said that she and her son both have respiratory problems, so they take flu vaccines every year to prevent serious complications when they contract the disease.
According to the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control, flu infections are reported throughout the city year-round, but the virus usually affects more people between December and May.
Speaking with local media on February 11, doctor Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang from Saint Paul Hospital said they had received nearly 100 Influenza A patients, primarily children and elderly people.
"This number is much higher than last year," Hang said. "We're also admitting many patients with pneumonia caused by the Influenza A infection. These cases often take a lot of time and treatment."
Meanwhile, Doctor Pham Van Phuc from the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi said they currently treat 10 severe flu patients, one of whom requires ECMO support.
