NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) are urging residents to get their covid and flu vaccines as health experts warn of a 'twindemic' this winter.
This comes after experts said they were increasingly worried about a bad flu spike this winter. Officials at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned people will have lower levels of natural immunity to flu this year after a few winters when people socialised far less due to the covid pandemic.
The UKHSA warned of a possible “difficult winter” ahead as respiratory viruses, including flu and Covid-19, circulate widely. The most commonly detected flu is the H3N2 strain and international surveillance suggests the UK should expect it to spread this winter.
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As PA news agency reports, H3N2 has recently caused waves of infection in countries including Australia, which has just had its winter. The vaccine used by the UK is designed to fight this strain.
A spokesperson for NHSGGC told Glasgow Live: “We’d like to thank everyone who has come forward so far for their flu and booster vaccination.
“It’s more important than ever that people in Glasgow get vaccinated this winter. Flu can be extremely serious and is very infectious and with Covid-19 still circulating in the community, we can best protect those most at risk while also easing pressure on our NHS and social care services by ensuring as many people as possible come forward for their jags.
“Our autumn/winter vaccination programme is currently being rolled out across the health board to ensure that those who are eligible can receive their COVID and flu vaccination in coming weeks. Full information on the rollout, including who is eligible and how they will be invited , can be found on our website NHSGGC - Autumn Winter Vaccination Programme 2022.”
In 2017/2018, the H3N2 flu strain led to a severe UK flu season, with around 20,000 deaths and 40,000 hospital admissions. It did circulate in the UK last winter but less mixing due to Covid-19 means there is little immunity to it.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: “Flu and Covid-19 are unpredictable but there are strong indications we could be facing the threat of widely circulating flu, lower levels of natural immunity due to less exposure over the last three winters and an increase in Covid-19 circulating with lots of variants that can evade the immune response.
“This combination poses a serious risk to our health, particularly those in high-risk groups.
“The H3N2 flu strain can cause particularly severe illness. If you are elderly or vulnerable because of other conditions you are at greater risk, so getting the flu jab is a sensible, potentially life-saving thing to do.
“We are extremely fortunate to have vaccines against these two diseases.
“Most eligible groups have been selected because they are at higher risk of severe illness. Younger children are unlikely to have built up any natural immunity to flu and therefore it is particularly important they take the nasal spray vaccine this year.
“So, if you are offered a jab, please come forward to protect yourself and help reduce the burden on our health services.”
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