Health leaders are urging Britons to get their flu vaccine this autumn as a report reveals uptake fell in every area of England last year.
Australia has been gripped by flu in recent months after an outbreak hit hard and early, with some regions reporting high rates of hospitalisation linked to the virus.
It has sparked fears the NHS could suffer a similar fate without action to boost uptake during this year’s flu programme, which launches next month.
New analysis of official data by policy group Future Health shows 230,000 fewer people in England were vaccinated against flu in 2023/24 than would have been if the previous rates had been maintained.
Rates fell in all 42 integrated care boards, which control how NHS money is spent locally.
Britons are being urged to get their flu vaccine this autumn, amid data showing a fall in uptake for every area in England last year (file photo)
Seven ICBs even failed to meet World Health Organisation targets for having 75 per cent of eligible adults over 65 vaccinated against the virus.
The Association of Directors of Public Health described the decline in uptake as ‘alarming’ and said it needs ‘urgent attention’.
It stressed it is vital the public receive information about the benefits of jabs from reputable sources, rather than relying not the ‘misinformation often found on social media’.
And it warned more must be done to make it easier for people to travel to vaccination sites.
The highest flu vaccination rate of 83.5 per cent of eligible adults over 65 was recorded in Gloucestershire and the lowest in North West London with a rate of just 64.4 per cent.
The five ICBs with the lowest rates of flu vaccination were all in London, followed by Birmingham and Solihull and the Black Country, according to the Future Health report.
Richard Sloggett, programme director at Future Health and a former special adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: ‘Despite the success of the Covid-19 vaccine programme, this research shows that the NHS is struggling to deliver vaccinations to those who need them.
‘Vaccinations save lives and reduce hospitalisations particularly during the busy winter months.
‘The new Government should grip this and put raising vaccination rates across England at the centre of its winter planning.’
The Future Health report, commissioned by Pfizer, also examined regional variation in uptake of vaccines for 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 uptakes ranges from 9.6 per cent to 20.6 per cent.
Analysis suggests if ICBs with below average vaccination rates could reach the average for each of the four programmes, over 900,000 extra people would be vaccinated.
Getting to 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.
‘Therefore, it is imperative that we make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated by bringing vaccines to people rather than creating barriers.’
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is expected to advise the government on who should receive the flu vaccine around mid-September, with the rollout starting later the same month or October.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘Flu is highly infectious and can have potentially serious health consequences, especially for people in high-risk groups: those aged 65 and over, pregnant women and very young children, or those with long term medical conditions.
‘We’d absolutely encourage anyone in a high-risk group, or has regular contact with someone who is, to come forward for their vaccine when it is offered this year as it is the most effective way to protect yourself against influenza.
An NHS spokesperson said: ‘Getting the flu, Covid or other vaccines are one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself from serious illness during winter, and last year the NHS delivered millions of vaccinations to eligible people of all ages across England.’
