Children are driving the surge in the “superflu” that has sent hospital admissions soaring, as health bosses push to get jabs to millions of unvaccinated young people. On Thursday, NHS England released its updated flu and hospital figures which revealed that there are enough flu patients each day « to fill more than three whole hospital trusts », as the health service warned the impact of the strain meant the NHS faced a « worst case scenario » for this time of year.
According to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data, the flu positivity rate in England rose from 21% last week from 17% the week before. 34% of all tested samples were positive for influenza, the medical name for flu, compared with 24.2% in the previous week. The highest positivity rates were among children and young people aged five to 14, three times higher than rates among old people, for whom the disease has more serious consequences.
The increase in cases comes after NHS data showed a record high number of people in hospital in England with flu for this time of year, which has spiked by more than 50% in just a week.
In late October, NHS England warned that flu season struck the health service « more than a month earlier than usual, with cases three times higher than this time last year », as it urged eligible to help avoid a « long and drawn-out flu season » by getting their vaccines amid a concerning surge among young people.
Despite this, some four million children, more than 50% of two to 17-year-olds, are yet to be vaccinated, reports The Telegraph.
In some boroughs, just 10% of primary school children were vaccinated by the end of October, with the lowest numbers seen in Lambeth and Southwark.
As an uptick in cases strikes nationally, some schools have even been forced to close to tackle outbreaks.
Children are normally given a nasal spray form of the vaccine by health workers in schools, after parents have signed consent forms, The Telegraph reports.
All schools in England will have been visited by NHS teams by the end of today (Friday). However, with health chiefs concerned that uptake remains too low, schools with the lowest rates of consent will be visited again next week, according to The Telegraph.
Dr Conall Watson, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said there’s « still plenty of flu vaccine available to protect those who need it – what’s running out is time to be protected ahead of Christmas ».
“If your child has missed out on their vaccination with the school immunisation team, you should still be able to get vaccinated through a community clinic over the next few weeks,” he added.
Despite the strains facing the health service, a strike by resident doctors is still set to go ahead in the coming days. Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) are set to walk out from 7am on December 17 in their latest round of industrial action over pay.
The Health Secretary Wes Streeting has made a renewed offer as he looks to end the long-running dispute. It includes legislation to ensure homegrown doctors have priority for speciality training roles, an increase in training posts over the next three years, and funding for doctors’ mandatory exams.
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