Health leaders are urging Britons to get their flu jab this autumn as a report reveals uptake fell across all areas of England last year.
Australia has been hit hard by flu in recent months after an outbreak hit hard and early, with some regions reporting high hospitalisation rates linked to the virus.
This has raised fears that the NHS could suffer a similar fate if steps are not taken to boost uptake during this year’s flu programme, which launches next month.
New analysis of official data by policy group Future Health shows that 230,000 fewer people in England have had a flu vaccination in 2023/24 than would have had previous rates been maintained.
Rates fell across all 42 integrated care boards, which control how NHS money is spent at local level.
Britons are being urged to get a flu shot this autumn, amid data showing a drop in uptake across all areas of England last year (file photo)
Seven BCIs failed to even meet World Health Organization targets of vaccinating 75 percent of eligible adults aged 65 and older against the virus.
The Association of Directors of Public Health has described the decline in uptake as “alarming” and said it needs “urgent attention”.
It was stressed that it is vital that the public receive information about the benefits of vaccines from trusted sources, rather than relying on “misinformation often found on social media”.
And he warned that more needs to be done to make it easier for people to travel to vaccination sites.
The highest flu vaccination rate, with 83.5 per cent of eligible adults aged 65 and over, was in Gloucestershire, and the lowest in north-west London, with a rate of just 64.4 per cent.
The five BCIs with the lowest flu vaccination rates were all in London, followed by Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country, according to the Future Health report.
Richard Sloggett, Future Health programme director and former special adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care, said: ‘Despite the success of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, this research shows the NHS is struggling to deliver vaccines to those who need them.
‘Vaccines save lives and reduce hospitalizations, especially during the hectic winter months.
“The new government should take action and put increasing vaccination rates across England at the heart of its winter planning.”
The Future Health report, commissioned by Pfizer, also examined regional variation in uptake of vaccines against Covid-19, pneumococcal disease and shingles.
The five integrated care boards (ICBs) with the lowest rates were all in London, followed by Birmingham and Solihull and the Black Country, according to the Future Health report (file photo)
The gap between the highest and lowest regional acceptance levels ranges from 9.6 percent to 20.6 percent.
The analysis suggests that if BCIs with below-average vaccination rates could catch up with the average of each of the four programs, more than 900,000 additional people would be vaccinated.
Reaching this level would reduce hospitalisations and ease pressure on the NHS, as well as having wider economic benefits through reductions in sick days.
Greg Fell, president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said: ‘Vaccines are one of our most powerful tools to protect against serious illness and death – no infection in living memory has achieved population immunity without vaccination.
“It is therefore imperative that we make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated by bringing vaccines to their homes rather than creating barriers.”
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is expected to advise the government on who should receive the flu vaccine by mid-September, with rollout expected to begin later in September or in October.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, president of the Royal College of Family Physicians, said: ‘Flu is highly infectious and can have potentially serious health consequences, especially for people in high-risk groups – those aged 65 or over, pregnant women and very young children, or those with long-term medical conditions.
‘We absolutely recommend that anyone who falls into a high-risk group, or has regular contact with someone who does, come forward to get vaccinated when it is offered this year, as it is the most effective way to protect against flu.
An NHS spokesperson said: “Getting your flu, COVID or other vaccine is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself from serious illness over winter, and last year the NHS delivered millions of vaccines to eligible people of all ages across England.”