40,000 on sick leave

The wave of illness is now beginning to roll

There is no shortage of medicines for infections this year.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

The cold season is now really hitting: almost 40,000 Upper Austrians are currently registered as sick with the health insurance fund (ÖGK), 45 percent more than in the previous week. However, unlike in previous years, pharmacies' stocks of medicines are well filled this year.

"As expected, there is now a significant increase in sickness figures after the end of the Christmas vacations due to real flu and flu-like infections," says ÖGK head physician Andreas Krauter.

Flu-like infections in particular are currently rampant, with around 10,000 people insured with ÖGK currently off sick in Upper Austria alone. On the other hand, there are 333 reported cases of genuine influenza and 230 corona sick days.

However, the wave of colds is not (yet) as pronounced as last year: at the same time a year ago, more than 50,000 Upper Austrians were in bed.

No shortage of medication this year
The somewhat milder incidence of infections is also noticeable in pharmacies: "There is no specific shortage of medication for infectious diseases this year," reports Thomas Veitschegger, President of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists. The pharmaceutical industry has also adapted better to the cold season this year, which is another reason for the current good supply situation. In previous winters, medicines for flu and the like were regularly sold out.