Vulnerable patients at risk after more than half of NHS staff fail to get flu jab ...Middle East

Flu vaccine uptake has been falling every year for the past four years, leaving vulnerable patients at greater risk of the infection, health experts have warned.

Since the start of the Covid pandemic, fewer people have been getting a flu vaccine each year, with the biggest fall among health care staff, analysis shared with The i Paper has revealed.

Health staff are asked to get the flu jab every winter to cut the chance of them passing the infection to patients, and to reduce staff absences – but it is not compulsory.

Hospitals have been asked to redouble their efforts to encourage staff to get vaccinated this winter, by making the jab easier for them to get at work and publishing uptake rates by team.

The push has been triggered by a striking fall in uptake, with only 38 per cent of health staff in England getting the flu jab last winter. This is down from a high of 77 per cent in the winter of 2021 to 2022, which was when the Covid pandemic hit hardest.

There have been similar falls in the other three nations. In Scotland, 36 per cent of health staff got vaccinated last winter, with figures of 35 per cent for Wales and 24 per cent for Northern Ireland.

Older people, children and those who are clinically vulnerable can also get vaccinated against flu, although the jab does not work perfectly.

It cuts the risk of getting seriously ill with flu by 30-70 per cent, depending on the patient group, strains of the virus and the type of vaccine each year. So, even vulnerable patients who have been vaccinated themselves benefit from health staff getting jabbed.

Vulnerable patients at risk

Although this year’s predominant flu strain has some unusual mutations, early signs are that the vaccine is working about as well as most years.

The lower uptake among health staff is therefore placing people with health conditions at risk, said Lara Wong, founder of the patient group Clinically Vulnerable Families. “Clinically vulnerable families are incredibly concerned about this. The impact is going to be seen on the doorsteps of our hospitals when people will be presenting with serious cases this winter.”

Dr Simon Williams, a public health researcher at Swansea University, who compiled the figures from UK Health Security Agency data, said the fall among health staff was striking. “There’s just this year-on-year decrease, and it’s reduced by more than half.”

Sarah Sleet, head of the charity Asthma + Lung UK, said: “If somebody is going into work and they are carrying a virus, they may infect vulnerable people in those hospitals, so that’s of serious concern.

“Another area that gets less attention is that when they end up sick and off work, that is also adding to the pressures inside the system.”

Williams said several factors could be causing the fall in uptake, including scepticism that the flu vaccine was helpful. “I don’t suspect you have too many truly anti-vaxx sentiments among healthcare workers. I think it’s more the idea that it’s not necessary for those who aren’t over a certain age.”

Hospitals were told in September that there was a big gap between the highest and lowest vaccination rates in different hospitals.

“Last year, our best performing trusts vaccinated about two thirds of their staff, compared to around 1 in 8 in those with the lowest rates of vaccination,” they were told in a letter from chief nursing officer for England, Duncan Burton.

“All trusts should aim to improve uptake by at least 5 percentage points compared to last year’s position.”

Flu jab teams roving round hospitals

Williams said: “Maybe certain hospitals and surgeries aren’t doing as good a job as they can to raise awareness of how to get it and that it’s really important for their role in protecting patients.”

Some hospitals are using new tactics to improve uptake this year, including having vaccine “champions” to talk round hesitant colleagues, according to a briefing from the National Institute for Health and Care Research. They are also setting up mobile teams that move through hospitals offering to immunise staff there and then.

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Vaccine uptake among people with health conditions such as asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) may be falling because they are getting fewer annual reviews with their GP, where they are reminded to have flu jabs, said Sleet, the charity head. This may be because of greater pressures on primary care over the past few years.

“If you’re not getting that kind of basic stuff to keep on top of your condition, you’re going to be more vulnerable going into winter, when you’re more likely to pick up viral infections on top of your long-term condition.”

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