The public is being urged to minimise contact with others if they have symptoms of flu or Covid as the NHS prepares for a tough winter. A mutated, or “drifted”, strain of the H3N2 flu strain is driving a sharper, earlier surge in infections and hospital admissions this year. Dr Conall Watson, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, urged eligible people to come forward for vaccination as soon as possible.
He added: “There are also simple steps we can all take to help protect one another through the festive period. If you have symptoms of flu or Covid-19 — like a high temperature, cough and feeling tired or achy — you should try to minimise contact with others, especially those more vulnerable. Washing hands regularly and ensuring indoor spaces are well ventilated both help. If you have symptoms and need to go out, you should consider wearing a face covering.”
The advice is particularly important ahead of the festive period when families will be gathering, including older relatives who are more vulnerable to serious illness.
But some symptoms of flu are less well known than others. The NHS lists 10 common symptoms of flu, which can come on quickly.
Three signs that some people may not be aware of are difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite and feeling tired or exhausted. Such symptoms could be easily missed or mistaken for stress during the busy run-up to Christmas.
The other seven symptoms listed by the NHS website are:
- a sudden high temperature
- an aching body
- a dry cough
- a sore throat
- a headache
- diarrhoea or tummy pain
- feeling sick and being sick
The NHS is this week facing a double whammy of surging winter viruses and the start of a five-day walk-out by resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors.
Health chiefs and the Government have urged doctors to call off the strike, which ministers have branded “reckless” and “irresponsible” at a time of such high pressure for the NHS.
Shabana Mahmood said any strikes in the NHS “undoubtedly” put lives at risk. Asked what she thought of how doctors had dealt with the dispute, the Home Secretary told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “We want to make sure that the NHS is supported through a difficult winter and through this particular flu outbreak that we’re seeing at the moment, and I just think it’s really important that everybody realises what’s at stake here.
“I do think there’s a bit of a difference between the stance that the leadership of the resident doctors has taken and the individual views of those doctors themselves.”
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