Teen Becomes Eight Victim Of Flu This Season, Health Minister Writes Off Epidemic

The victim did not receive flu shots and was also suffering from the RSV lung infection and other pre-existent medical conditions, according to Romania’s National Health Institute.

Earlier on Tuesday, Health Minister Sorina Pintea stated that there were no reasons to declare a flu epidemic at this moment, and that the high number of recent cases was due to more intense circulation of the virus in the current weather conditions. She added that no hospital in the country had yet announced a quarantine over the matter.

“We cannot talk about a flu epidemic at this moment, it is about a more intense circulation of the flu virus. It is true that hospitals are dealing with a large number of requests at the moment, but everyone has the possibility to limit their hospital visits in this period,” Pintea said during a launch event for a vaccination campaign on Tuesday.

The minister added, according to the latest data, approximately 1,200,000 people in the country received flu shots, with 100,000 shots still available. The state covers flu shots for categories considered to be at risk: medical personnel, individuals with chronic illnesses, the elderly and pregnant women.