Britain is being battered by a tidal wave of festive flu, health chiefs warned today.
Surveillance programmes that monitor the UK’s outbreak suggest flu hospital admissions in England have already surpassed last year’s peak and are running at their highest level so far this winter.
Figures show more than 2,500 beds alone have been taken up by flu patients, an increase of almost 50 per cent on last week (1,800).
Rates of the winter vomiting bug norovirus, meanwhile, are also almost 25 per cent higher than expected for this time of year.
Health chiefs fear the outbreaks will continue to pick up pace in the coming weeks as a result of more people socialising indoors over Christmas and the New Year.
They urged people with coughs, sore throats or a runny nose to limit contact with vulnerable groups — such as the elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions — over fears they could become seriously unwell with the virus.
It comes as experts have already warned the health service must brace itself for a ‘quad-demic’ driven the four winter illnesses — flu, covid, norovirus and cold-like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
RSV, which is most common in infants and young children, was 25 per cent higher in the week ending December 17, than the previous year.
Surveillance programmes that monitor the UK’s outbreak suggest flu hospital admissions in England have already surpassed last year’s peak and are running at their highest level so far this winter
NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: ‘The NHS has been hit hard with an early festive flu season, putting increased pressure on staff as they prepare for the long winter ahead of us.
‘In response to the flood of flu cases so early in the season, the NHS has been making it as easy as possible for people to get protected with a jab, including vaccination centres in supermarket car parks and football clubs.
‘As children finish school and friends and families congregate over the Christmas period we expect viruses to continue to spread.
‘So if you haven’t got your flu jab and are eligible please come forward, and the public should think twice about seeing loved ones if they are seriously unwell.
‘I would remind anyone who needs medical support to continue to use 999 and A&E in an emergency and for everything else, use NHS 111 or 111 online.’
People who are aged over 65, those with long term health conditions, pregnant women, care home residents and carers are eligible for a free jab.
There are signs that calls for eligible Brits to roll up their sleeves and get jabbed have been heard.
NHS England said staff had now delivered a total of 28.5 million vaccines since the start of September.
Today marks the last day to book winter vaccinations online or via NHS 111 for an appointment at a local vaccination site.
From Friday, Brits will only be able to visit a Covid walk-in vaccination site or attend a pharmacy to get the jab.
Fears of a bad flu year come just days after experts warned this year’s flu vaccine could be 30 per cent less effective than hoped.
The flu vaccine is changed each year based on data from countries in the southern hemisphere, like Australia and New Zealand ,who have their winter season six months before Britain.
This is because the same types of flu that struck those countries usually goes on to cause the majority of cases in the UK.
However, sometimes this forecasting is wrong.
In 2017, a mismatched flu vaccine was responsible for 50,000 extra deaths in the UK, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Data suggests the flu jab used in the southern hemisphere, which the one being rolled out in the UK is based on, could be up to 30 per cent less effective than normal.
Experts consider a successful flu jab to be one that prevents people from needing hospital care for the virus in about 7 in 10 cases.
However, data from countries like Australia and New Zealand, suggests the latest jab only stopped 4 in 10 hospitalisations.
Flu, also called influenza, is responsible for about 40,000 hospitalisations and more than 10,000 deaths in the UK every year, though this can be higher in bad years.
The symptoms typically include fever, sore throat, muscle aches and a cough.
