Flu and pneumonia have killed more people than Covid this winter 💉but barely half of eligible people have had their flu jab. 🔴 Exclusive from HugoGye
A health source pointed out that among over-65s, uptake is at more than 77 per cent and suggested that focussing on mitigation rather than vaccine uptake would now be the most effective way of reducing flu deaths.
For the last two winters, flu was unusually rare because lockdowns and voluntary social distancing intoduced to reduce Covid infections had the side effect of restricting the circulation of flu as well. The Department of Health has long been braced for a bad flu season as a result of lower natural immunity levels and a large number of infections in the southern hemisphere’s winter.
Mary Ramsay of UKHSA said: “With winter upon us, we are now seeing flu circulating widely with a sharp rise in the rate of hospitalisations for flu in the last week, particularly among the under 5s and over 85s. “The NHS frontline has already delivered millions of vaccines to those most at risk from what can be a deadly virus, including more than 77 per cent of 65-year-olds which exceeds the World Health Organisation target. The flu vaccine offers the best protection against severe illness and it’s not too late for everyone eligible, especially those over 50 and under five, to get vaccinated to ensure they have the best protection this winter.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
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