Fewer than a third of at-risk people have flu jab

FEWER than a third of people at risk of flu due to suffering other medical conditions have been vaccinated against the infection so far, figures for Scotland show.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said 30.7 per cent of people under the age of 65 in at-risk groups had had the flu jab – up from 28.9 per cent at the same time last year but lagging slightly behind the figure for England at 32 per cent.

Uptake of the vaccine in the over-65s is currently 49.1 per cent, compared to 55 per cent in England.

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However, Scotland was more successful at getting pregnant women to come forward – 22.5 per cent have had the jab, up from 11.8 per cent at the same time last year and 14 per cent currently in England.

For pregnant women with other risk factors for flu, such as asthma or diabetes, uptake rose to 37.2 per cent.

Levels of flu remain low so far this year, possibly due to the milder temperatures.

HPS said there had been a slow increase in GP consultation rates for flu-like illness in the last few weeks. The rate currently stands at 10.3 consultations per 100,000 of the population, up from 7.6 three weeks ago.

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