The flu season appears to have arrived early, experts have said, as they urged people to get a flu jab. Monitoring by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggests cases of flu have risen across England, with more calls to NHS 111 and a rise in people seeking help from their GP for flu-like symptoms.
The UKHSA has urged everyone eligible to get a flu vaccine, saying Covid restrictions over the past two winters means people have little natural immunity. The latest data suggests hospital and intensive admissions for the respiratory disease are rising quickest in children under five, though overall flu levels are still at a relatively low level, meaning it is difficult to predict how big the wave will be.
This year’s flu jab is a good match for the type of seasonal flu (H3N2) that is circulating this year. In 2017/2018, the H3N2 flu strain led to a bad UK flu season, with around 20,000 deaths and 40,000 hospital admissions.
