Due to a 7% increase in demand for flu jabs as compared to this time last year, about 90,000 more doses are on their way from Europe and Australia in addition to the 450,000 that were ordered in December. The health professionals had to order extra flu jabs due to high demand.

Health ministry is forecasting the second wave of swine flu, which will strike back in autumn, after the usual winter flu season. The effect of H1N1 this year will be quite similar to that of the last year, or can even be less severe than that.

Health experts claim that a larger or more severe wave is less likely, this year. Last week, none of the swabs collected from patients with symptoms of influenza tested positive for the virus.

People who are above 65 years of age and have respiratory conditions such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes, can get vaccination for free. The vaccine is also free for the pregnant women and the morbidly obese.

Since the beginning of swine flu pandemic, about 213 countries have reported cases and the virus have claimed almost 17,000 lives across the globe.