NHS Issues Urgent Call for Flu Vaccinations
The NHS has launched a crucial appeal for flu vaccinations as England prepares for the peak of the flu season, which is only weeks away. The chief nurse has urged all eligible adults to get vaccinated promptly to ensure full protection before winter.
Vaccination Availability and Early Flu Surge
To meet demand, 2.4 million vaccination appointments will be made available next week—enough to cover all of Greater Manchester or even the entire population of Botswana. This move responds to a flu wave arriving over a month earlier than usual, with case numbers three times higher compared to the same period last year.
Influence of Australia's Flu Season
The urgency is heightened following Australia's most severe flu season on record, a trend that often forecasts what to expect in England.
Vaccination Progress Across England
New weekly data reveals that NHS teams have already administered over 13 million flu vaccines since the campaign began, totaling 13,299,775 doses.
Protection in Care Homes
Efforts to vaccinate care home residents have been successful, with nearly 60% (59.4%) now protected. This achievement is credited to enhanced coordination between vaccination services and care homes, including in-house jab delivery and mobile vaccine buses or local pop-up clinics.
Vaccination of Eligible Children
So far, 2.3 million vaccines have been given to children, including 400,000 doses for two- and three-year-olds. However, only about a third (33%) of eligible toddlers have received their flu vaccine.
"Eligible adults are being urged to come forward now, so they are fully protected ahead of the usual flu season peak in the winter months."
"The NHS is calling on eligible adults to get their jab as soon as possible to stamp out the early wave of flu hitting the NHS more than a month earlier this year, with cases triple the same time last year."
"Three in five of all care home residents have now been protected against flu (59.4%) thanks to efforts across the country to link up vaccination and care home services to deliver jabs in-house, as well as moving the vaccines closer to home via mobile buses or by local community pop ups."
Author's summary: The NHS urges eligible adults and children to get flu vaccines now to combat an early, severe flu season, following record cases in Australia and triple infection rates compared to last year.
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