Fewer people in Derbyshire receive flu jab

They come after flu cases soared during December, with the NHS urging people to get the jab if they have not already. People aged over 65, clinically at-risk under-65s, pregnant women and two to three year olds are encouraged to get the flu jab as they are at higher risk of complications from the virus.

UK Health Security Agency figures show 225,009 in these groups in Derbyshire had received the jab up to the end of December. It meant 70% of the 321,451 patients at higher risk from flu registered at GP surgeries in the area were vaccinated by this point – down from 72.2% at the same point last winter.

However, this is above the vaccination level seen before the coronavirus pandemic – 62.7% received the jab by the end of December 2019.

In England, 62.2% of people in higher risk groups had received the jab by the end of last year – down from 64.9% the previous year, but still above pre-pandemic levels of 56.8%. The fall in the flu vaccination rate comes as flu infections have rocketed throughout the winter. Across the country, an average of 2,224 beds per day up to January 29 were occupied by a patient suffering from flu.

NHS England said lower vaccination rates were not to blame for the rise in flu numbers, instead attributing it to increased infection in the community following two winters of reduced activity during the pandemic.