Flu jab ruling 'not question of cost cutting'

The parents of three-year-old Lana Ameen, who died from swine flu days after Christmas, have called for a national programme to protect the youngest children.

But Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said people of working age were at greatest risk of being killed by the strains of flu in the UK this winter and it was important for health professionals to focus on protecting the most vulnerable.

She urged people in at-risk groups – such as those with underlying medical complaints – to get themselves vaccinated, warning that more than half of those under 65 have so far got the jab to which they are entitled.

She has written to all GPs and NHS trusts to remind them of the danger of potentially lethal secondary infections piggy-backing on the flu virus.

Prof Davies said the bulk of the 112 verified deaths from flu since September had come among the working-age population, with just six under-fives and 16 over-65s.

"This isn't about cost-cutting," she told Sky News. "This is about focusing our efforts on those who are most at risk.

"The data from the pandemic last year showed – and this year's data is very similar – that if you are in an at-risk group you are 18 times more likely to die of flu if you catch it than a healthy person, so we need to focus on getting those at risk to come forward and have vaccinations."

After complaints that the failure to advertise flu jabs had led to low take-up rates this winter, Prof Davies said vaccination rates were now at normal levels for the time of year. But she said that only 70 per cent of eligible over-65s and 46 per cent of at-risk patients below that age had so far been vaccinated.