A nurse administers a vaccine (Stock image)
(Picture: PA Wire)The number of children aged 2 or 3 to be vaccinated against seasonal flu in London fell 50 per cent below the NHS target last winter, according to new figures published by NHS England.
Just four in ten (41.6 per cent) of those in the age group had received the jab in the capital between September 2021 and March 31 this year – the lowest figure of any region in the UK.
It marks a decrease of 5 per cent on the year before and comes as health officials warned of an “unpredictable” flu season this winter with low levels of immunity in the population. The NHS recommends that 95 per cent of children in the age group are jabbed against the disease.
All GP practices in England offer the nasal spray flu vaccine to children aged 2-3 to protect them against flu, which can lead to serious problems including bronchitis and pneumonia. It is also available free on the NHS for primary school children and some secondary school aged children with long-term health conditions.
The South East had the highest level of flu vaccination coverage at 57.3 per cent, followed by the South West on 56.8 per cent and then the East Midlands on 54.4 per cent.
The national rate of vaccination coverage was 50.1 per cent – a decrease of 6.6 percentage points on the previous year. However, it is 6.3 per cent higher than 2020.
It comes after officials at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned there will be lower levels of natural immunity to flu this year after a few winters when people socialised far less due to the Covid pandemic.
Speaking to the Standard on Wednesday, London’s regional director of public health Professor Kevin Fenton said that co-infection of both Covid and flu this winter was potentially “dangerous” and urged Londoners to take up the jab.
International surveillance shows the UK can expect the spread of H3N2 (a subtype of influenza type A), which is currently the most commonly detected flu virus worldwide.
H3N2 has recently caused waves of infection in countries including Australia, which has just had its winter. In 2017/18, the strain led to 20,000 deaths and 40,000 hospital admissions in the UK.
