Keep safe, vaccinate: NICD warns of earlier than usual flu season

702’s John Perlman speaks with Dr Sibongile Walaza, an epidemiologist at the Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis at The National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD).

Listen below:

Flu season has hit South Africa earlier than expected this year. In fact, it has had its earliest start since 2010.

Walaza says it is not clear why the flu season has started so early, as flu is unpredictable.

She adds that they cannot say yet whether this will be more severe than last year.

RELATED: 4 Common flu myths busted - how many do you believe?

Now that the season has started, she says it is essential that people that can get vaccinated do so.

“We do not have much time now to get people vaccinated.”

- Dr Sibongile Walaza, Epidemiologist at the NICD

Scroll up to the audio player for more.