As economies reopen and restrictions are lifted, both the flu and the coronavirus will be circulating at the same time Photo: Matic Zorman / Masion Moderne

As economies reopen and restrictions are lifted, both the flu and the coronavirus will be circulating at the same time Photo: Matic Zorman / Masion Moderne

The number of vaccinated people getting infected with the coronavirus has been rising over the past month, data published by the Luxembourg health ministry shows.

In its weekly report published on Wednesday, the ministry said 35.6% of new cases diagnosed between 20 to 26 September were among people who are fully vaccinated. The remaining two thirds (64.4%) occurred in people who were not or only partially inoculated against the coronavirus.

But a month ago, in the week from 23 to 29 August, only 21.1% of infections were diagnosed in fully vaccinated people. The rate climbed to 26.7% the following week to reach more than a third by the end of September.

At the same time, individuals who were fully vaccinated made up 30% of patients treated in hospital for a coronavirus infection and 26% of those in intensive care. For the previous five weeks, all intensive care patients had been unvaccinated.  

The start of autumn also rings in the cold and flu season, and people battling a common cold will be left with a compromised immune system to fight off other illnesses, a risk as the more contagious Delta variant makes up 100% of cases diagnosed in Luxembourg.

Experts have warned that this year’s flu season could be particularly brutal as social distancing and lockdown measures limited the disease’s spread last year. The lull potentially lowered population immunity against the flu.

As economies reopen and restrictions are lifted, both the flu and the coronavirus will be circulating in this autumn and winter at the same time.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have urged citizens to get their annual flu shot. A study predicts as many as 600,000 hospitalisations for flu this season, around three times as many as the US typically sees annually. That number could be higher if fewer people get their flu shot than in previous years.

Overall, the number of new coronavirus cases diagnosed in Luxembourg rose by 9%, from 542 during the week from 13 to 19 September to 590 cases during the week from 20 to 26 September.

The reproductive number rose from 0.98 to 1.05, just above the target threshold of 1.0, which means one person infects one other person with the virus.

While still counting the lowest infection numbers by age bracket, the group of 60 to 74-year-olds saw the biggest increase in new cases diagnosed, up 41% compared to the week before. Infections were up 27% among those aged 75 or over.

Luxembourg has started rolling out booster shots of the covid-19 vaccine but only to people aged 75 or over or suffering from immune deficiencies.

Children aged 0 to 14 reported the highest infection rate--at 166 cases per 100,000 inhabitants--the health ministry said. The coronavirus vaccine is available only to children aged 12 or older.