Flu hospitalisations doubling week on week 

Chief Medical Officer Professor Breda Smyth (left) getting her vaccines with Stephen Bradley, pharmacist at Meagher's Pharmacy in Dublin. Picture Maxwell’s

People have forgotten how to guard against respiratory illnesses despite everything the covid-19 pandemic taught us, the chief medical officer has warned.

This comes as hospitalisations for flu are doubling week on week while vaccination rates against flu and covid-19 remain too low, Professor Breda Smyth said.