This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Flu jab rates prompt complacency warning
New data has revealed the scale of the challenge in expanding the vaccination programme, leading to experts warning that complacency over the flu jab risks overwhelming the NHS.
The government announced plans to double the amount of people who receive the influenza jab in July, but academics argue that more needs to be done to explain the severity of the flu. This is because, research found, that the take-up rate among those people in vulnerable groups eligible for a free jab has declined in recent years.
The government wants to increase the number of people vaccinated from 15 million to 30 million amid fears coronavirus cases will rise again in the autumn. However, local authorities in England saw an average 45 per cent of people with serious health conditions under 65 take up the offer of a free vaccine last winter, representing a drop from 50 per cent in 2015.
The government wants to increase the number of people vaccinated from 15 million to 30 million amid fears coronavirus cases will rise again in the autumn.
The prospect of a surge in flu cases over winter is also of concern to many people still suffering from what has been dubbed ‘long Covid’, which is where coronavirus patients experience symptoms such as extreme fatigue and breathlessness long after two weeks.
Dr Tonia Thomas, project manager at the Vaccine Knowledge Trust, which is part of the University of Oxford, said: "People think the flu is not that bad, that is even for people who are in the risk groups. They are leading healthy lives in terms of day-to-day living. I have spoken to patients who say they forgot they are in a risk group. It is only when they contract an infection that they realise their body responds differently to other people's."
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