Elderly facing winter flu vaccine shortage
The flu vaccine is running short across parts of the UK, causing fears that pensioners could face delays in getting the jab.
Surging demand caused by coronavirus has prompted high street pharmacies Boots and Lloyds to suspend bookings for those aged 65 and over, while the waiting list at some GP surgeries stands at several weeks.
The shortages leave swathes of the most vulnerable in the population with no immediate prospect of an flu jab, despite a Government promise that they would be at the front of the queue.
It follows the release of a Public Health England (PHE) study showing that the chance of death for coronavirus patients roughly doubles if they catch flu at the same time (the graphic below shows how the symptoms compare).
PHE aims to immunise 30 million people this winter in the largest flu vaccine programme ever undertaken in Britain. For the first time, the programme has been opened to all over-50s, meaning more people than ever are entitled to a jab.
Officials warned that the full roll-out would have to be staged due to the practical limitations of manufacturing and distributing the vaccine, but said pensioners would be a priority.
On Monday night, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) said it was "essential" that those most vulnerable to influenza got vaccinated by the end of November.
Greg Clark, the chairman of the Commons science committee, told The Telegraph: "Suppressing the flu helps fight Covid by reducing the number of people with Covid-like symptoms who would need to isolate and be tested, and by reducing the severity of the impact on those who do get Covid.
"It is essential that as many people as possible are able to get a flu jab this autumn."
Launching the vaccination programme last Monday, Professor Jonathan Van Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, said "the emphasis has always got to be on the high-risk groups", confirming that those 65 and over would get the vaccine first.
"This winter, with Covid still circulating, and the increased risk to life if you are ill with both viruses simultaneously... it is even more vital to get the free jab as soon as you can."
However, with demand up tenfold on the same time last year – according to Lloyds – pharmacies and GP surgeries are running out of their first batch of jabs before they get restocked.
Older people require a special "adjuvanted" vaccine to stimulate their immune systems, which become less reactive with age. Each GP surgery is responsible for ordering its own stock of flu jabs from manufacturers in the February of the previous winter. The Department of Health and Social Care controls a central emergency stockpile ordered directly from the pharmaceutical companies.
While The Telegraph understands that none of this has yet been made available to GP surgeries, officials are planning to publish instructions to practices on how to apply for the standby jabs.
Dr George Kassianos, the national immunisation spokesman for the RCGP, said: "From the middle of December, we usually see the influenza case rate rising. It then peaks in January or February before coming down. It is essential that at-risk groups are vaccinated in September, October or November. We take it for granted that everyone is going to get a vaccine, but actually not everyone can have one all at once."
Graham Slesser, a 65-year-old accountant from Doncaster, tried to book a flu jab at his local GP on Monday, having been turned away by his high street pharmacy.
"I was told there were 200 people ahead of me in the queue and that I might not get an appointment until the end of October," he told The Telegraph. "I have an existing issue with my heart rate and I am extremely worried about catching flu and coronavirus.
"The powers that be knew this was coming – they encouraged everyone to go off and get vaccinated. Now there's a shortage."
Sir Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, said it would be "age apartheid" to ask the over-65s to shield in order to minimise the impact of a second virus wave (watch Boris Johnson talk about the resurgence of the virus in the video below).
"If you look at the way in which infections are spreading across the north-west of England right now, you can see them beginning to ripple up the age curve," he said. "So the idea that you could, you know, completely separate the fifth of the population who are aged over 65, say, I think is implausible.
"Not least because, for some of the most vulnerable, they will be getting help from working-age adults, some of whom will be younger, and some of whom will be living in households with younger people."
Other patients have complained that appointments with pharmacists have been cancelled at the last minute.
On Monday, Lloyds told The Telegraph that they hoped to reopen bookings "over the coming days". Boots said the disparity between supply and demand meant they could not say when their bookings would reopen, and their website asks customers not to visit their local store without an appointment.
Once uptake in the most at-risk groups has been maximised, the newly eligible 50 to 64-year-olds will be invited for vaccination.
A Government spokesman said: "Delivery of flu vaccinations is phased over the autumn and into winter, and priority is rightly given to those who are most at risk, with others being asked to wait to later in the year. We have sufficient vaccine for up to 30 million people to be vaccinated in England. Flu vaccination deliveries for those who are in at-risk groups has started, and will continue in all areas in England throughout the winter months."
A spokesman for Boots said the company had purchased 20 per cent more doses this year compared to last year, adding: "We know that this year our customers have been more conscious than ever about protecting the health of themselves and their families, and protecting against flu has been front of mind for many of us.
"As a result, we have seen more people than ever booking early to get their flu vaccinations and, due to the level of demand and limited stock that we have available, we made the decision to pause taking any new bookings for our private and NHS under-65s flu vaccination services last week.
"Since then, we have been closely monitoring our stock levels of the vaccination recommended by the NHS for patients aged 65 and over, and can confirm that we have also now closed for new bookings for these vaccinations. This is to make sure we can vaccinate the patients who have already booked their appointment with us."
A spokesman for LloydsPharmacy said: "In the first week of flu season, we have already vaccinated 10 times more people compared to last year. We are reassuring customers that there are enough vaccines available for those who have booked appointments.
"We are currently making improvements to our online booking to cope with the increased demand, and we are asking any new customers to provide us with their contact details if they wish to have a flu vaccination so that we can contact them with an exclusive window to book their appointment online.
"We would like to assure our patients who have registered their information with us that appointments are available and will become available over the coming days."
